The Nights of '87
by MrCreepah
Summary: Read the Story of Five Nights at Freddy's 2 through the eyes of Jeremy Fitzgerald. Basically a written playthrough of the second game with Jeremy's life and a few minor changes in the gameplay.
1. Looking Forward to Regret

_(A/N: Hey! This is my first story on this site, and my second story ever published. I've posted my first story and up to the second night of this one on Reddit, so if you've seen this there by some small chance then yes, It's ME. I decided to post my story on this site because it makes things a lot more convenient for me, and I hope you enjoy!)_

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 **Looking Forward to Regret**

The fifth of December, 1987. Saturday night and here I am all alone in my apartment, lying around on my couch. I did absolutely nothing productive for the whole day, but it feels so relaxing to just sit around, watch TV and read books. I'm glad I'm not living with my parents anymore. They always make me feel like I don't amount to anything when I'm just trying to relax, always on my case, either telling me to study or get a job. Suddenly my telephone rings, so I get up and answer it.

"Hello?"

"Hi Jeremy."

Speak of the devil.

"Oh hi mom, how are you?"

"I'm well thanks. Jeremy, have you gotten a job yet?"

"I'm doing just fine mom, thanks for asking. No I don't have a job yet, but I'm looking for one."

"It's good that you're looking for a job, being on vacation for three whole months and lying around on the couch the whole day doesn't feed anyone."

"I can't tell you how many times I've heard that from you, mom."

"Well, I just want to remind you that your father and I aren't helping with your financial problems anymore."

"You and dad stopped helping me with my money troubles two months ago. I'm still under a roof with enough food, mom. I really don't need you to ask me if I got a job every 2 hours."

"Okay Jeremy, but you need to remember that I'm only doing this because I love you."

"Love you too, mom"

She only does this crap because she loves me, huh? Explains why she drops the phone without even saying goodbye to her only child. Even when I'm living alone, my mom's still on my case. I start thinking about getting a job while walking back to the couch, just to get my mom off my back. I realise that I am actually running out of money, so a job would be perfect right now. As I sit down, I notice the newspaper that I bought yesterday, lying on top of my TV. Just what I need. I browse through it and on the fifth page, I see a job opening at the new Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. I thought it was shut down for good. Just seeing that name brings back memories of when I was a child.

I'm surprised to see that I still remember each of the animatronic characters. There were three main animatronics: Bonnie, a purple rabbit, Chica, a yellow chicken and the main machine on stage, Freddy Fazbear himself, a brown bear. Then there was one isolated animatronic, Foxy, a red-orange pirate fox who stayed in a place called Pirate Cove. I remember running around with other kids, trying to find Foxy's treasure, then enjoying some pizza while watching the other three sing their trademark songs. Those were the days.

After a few more minutes of remembering my childhood, I actually decide to read the job description. It says to be part of the new face of Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. It was the grand re-opening for my favourite childhood pizzeria. I'm actually happy to see that I can work at the new place, since I've always loved those animatronic characters. I wonder what positions are available. Wait, it's only the nightwatch. Read before wondering, Jeremy. I'm actually a bit disappointed. Wait. Being the nightwatch means I don't have to deal with little kids, which I'm terrible at due to my short temper, so it's actually perfect for me. Who wants to rob that place anyway?

Just before I close the newspaper, I notice the animatronics shown on the picture look different from what I remember. Either my memory is terrible or they changed the design of the animatronics. No matter, the thought of finally getting my mom to quit pestering me to get a job got me excited for once. I can't wait for tomorrow. I check the time and I see that it's already 11 PM. I feel tired all of a sudden, which is great because I can talk to the manager sooner. It's going to be a great week ahead. Not only was I going to be able to work at the updated version of my favourite pizzeria, it also has a decent pay and I believe that it is quite a simple job. I crawl into my bed and fall asleep almost immediately.

After a dreamless sleep, I slowly open my eyes. It's Sunday. I jump out of bed to make myself a quick breakfast. I open my fridge and see that I barely have eggs left. Damn, guess I have to buy some today after I apply for my new job. As I start gobbling down my egg and bacon, I think of my mom. She's bound to call me at least once today to ask if I found a job, so I'll tell her then. I finish my food and walk out of my apartment, down the stairs and into my car. It's quite a short drive to the pizzeria, just another advantage of getting this job. I get out of my car and walk inside to see the new and improved animatronics.

This place is very different from what I remember, probably because it's in a different building. A woman walks up to me and greets me.

"Good morning sir, welcome to Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, where fantasy and fun come to life, are you here to pick up a child?"

"Uh, no. I'm actually here for the nightwatch job."

"Oh. In that case, the manager's office is right this way."

She points to an open door down the hall and I walk there. The office is empty but the manager shows up after a short while.

"Hello there! Welcome to the new and improved Freddy Fazbear's Pizza! Is there anything I can help you with, sir?"

"Yes, I'd like to apply for the nightwatch job. My name's Jeremy by the way, Jeremy Fitzgerald."

"Oh, that's just what we needed, thanks for applying! I'll be right back, just wait here Jeremy."

He walks into his office and comes out with some forms and a pen and tells me to fill them in, so I did just that. I gave him the forms and he tells me that he'll call me if I got the job, so I say my goodbyes and leave. I don't even remember the drive back to my apartment, just the fact that I'm here now. I forgot to buy eggs, dammit. On the bright side, I can tell my mom that I applied for a job if she calls. I decide to watch TV while I wait for a phone call from either my mom or the manager. Before I know it, I doze off while watching a documentary, only to be woken up again by a phone call.

Half asleep and wondering who it could be, I get up and answer the phone, trying my best not to sound like I just woke up.

"Hello?"

"Good evening Jeremy, it's the manager from Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. I'm just calling to tell you that you got the job!"

"That's great!"

"It's even better to see that you're happy to have gotten the job! Now, I don't have much time to talk right now since we're closing up soon, I just want to know: do you want to start working tonight?"

"Well, I don't have anything planned for tonight, so I'm more than happy to start as soon as possible."

"Excellent! Since you've decided to start tonight, please meet me at the pizzeria at 11:30 PM so I can show you around and get you acquainted with your new job."

"Not a problem, I'll see you then."

"Alright then! Goodbye Jeremy."

Before I can say goodbye, he drops the phone. The manager seems a bit too excited that I applied for and got this job. So excited that he almost seems anxious. Ah well, how bad can this job be? He asked me to meet him at the pizzeria at 11:30 PM, so I check the time. It's 7:50 PM, which means that I have four hours to kill. As I walk back to my couch, I wonder if my mom called me while I was asleep. I'm quite a light sleeper, so I guess I would've woken up if she did call me. She'll probably call me tomorrow afternoon or something. Just before I sit down on my couch, I realise that I'm still a bit drowsy, so I turn off my TV and dawdle to my room. I set my alarm clock for 11 o'clock and get into bed. I find myself staring at the ceiling for at least 10 minutes before I realise that I can't fall asleep.

This is quite strange because I normally fall asleep within 5 minutes. Eventually, I feel my eyelids get heavy and I fall asleep. After another dreamless sleep, I wake up, but I'm not in my room. I'm looking through a mask of some sort and I see a bunch of tables with party hats on top of them. I hear children laughing in the background. I seem to be on top of a stage. I try moving but I can't. All I can do is slowly look left and right, and it sounds like I'm turning on a motor of some sort. I look to my right and see Bonnie looking to my left, so I look to my left and see Chica looking to my right. I'm... Freddy? The children's laughter gets louder, but as it gets louder, I realise that it actually sounds like crying. It gets really loud and starts sounding like the children are in a lot of pain. I want to move and find where the children are, but I'm just stuck on the stage.

I wake up again to the sound of my alarm clock and I'm on my bed, in my room. That was one strange dream, but I guess I'm just excited without knowing it. My brain was probably reviving those old memories of the pizzeria in the form of my dreams. Now that I think about it, I'm actually a bit excited for this job, even though I'll probably just sit there doing nothing for who knows how long. Sitting there thinking about this made me realise that I'm actually quite hungry, so I go make some food for myself. I decide to make a tuna sandwich, but only because those are the only ingredients I have right now. I really need to buy more food tomorrow, but until then, this will have to do. After I finish eating, I make myself look presentable and take everything that I need. As I walk outside, I feel that it's actually quite a cold night, so I put on a jacket, lock up and walk downstairs to my car.

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 _(A/N: There you have it! If you're from Reddit, this part is a bit different because I've decided to merge different parts of my story. You'll notice that I'll post a whole night in one chapter instead of breaking it up. Anyway, hopefully you enjoyed this, please don't hesitate to leave a review, it can only improve my writing! And by the way, please let me know if I should post my first story on here as well. Being my first published story, it's shorter and the quality is kinda bad at the start, but it gets a lot better once you reach night 4. Well that's enough from me, I'll be posting two more chapters a short time after this one because that's far I've gotten as of now, so yeah. Have a good one :P)_


	2. Thrown in the Deep End

**Thrown in the Deep End**

The drive to the pizzeria makes me realise how much I should actually appreciate this car. Not only is it saving me from walking 15 minutes to get to the main part of town where all the shops are, it's also a present from my parents from my 21st birthday. The last time I got a present before that was when I was 12, but I guess my parents were just saving up to buy this for me. It's not the best, but now that I think about it, I actually love it to bits. Drifting off in thought really makes time seem like it speeds up because I just drove past Freddy's, thinking I'm still 3 minutes away.

I decide to make a U turn instead of driving around the block, just to save time, and I park in the spot closest to the front entrance. I get out of my car and check my watch, seeing that I'm 10 minutes early. The pizzeria is really dark and empty, and the manager is nowhere to be found. Thinking that he's inside, I try opening the door, but it's locked. Oh well, I'll just wait in my car until he shows up. The air outside is really chilly anyway. I start thinking of my dream again. I realise that I didn't take note of the sounds of the children when I woke up. They sounded like they were in a lot of pain. I don't remember hearing anything like that when I was younger. As far as I can remember, all the children at Freddy's were always giggling and running around, just like I was.

Before I can carry my train of thought any further, a car pulls up right next to mine. As soon as I see a man step out of the car, I know it's the manager, so I get out of mine as well.

"Hey, Jeremy! Glad to see you're here early!"

"Yeah, I'm quite eager to get started."

"That's great! Let's get inside, it's quite chilly out here."

With that, we walk to the door. The manager takes out a set of keys, hands me a spare set and shows me which key unlocks the door. We walk inside and he turns on the lights, which are all connected to one switch on the wall right next to the door, then he starts showing me around the place, telling me all about the "new and improved" animatronics. They sure look a lot more kid friendly, at least. The manager refers to them as the "toy animatronics", which I find perfectly logical. We got into Kid's Cove and I see this entanglement of wires with a head that looks like a female Foxy. I point to it and ask,

"What's that thing?"

"Oh, it's just a sort of 'take apart and put back together' animatronic, the kids love it!"

"That's... interesting."

"I know, it might look a bit sketchy, but I assure you that no child has been harmed in this new place because of any animatronic."

"That's good. Hey, uh, I have a question. What happened to the old animatronics?"

"Oh, those. We keep them in a back room, just follow me."

I decide to keep quiet and follow him. We get to a room labelled 'parts and service', but there's no light in there, so the manager uses a flashlight he keeps on him to show me. In there, I saw the old animatronics, withered and lifeless. I break the awkward silence by saying,

"It's quite sad to see my childhood in such a state of disrepair."

"I know, it's quite a shame. We decided to use them for spare parts for the newer animatronics, so we don't use too much money on this new place, you know?"

He checks his watch and says,

"Did we really spend this much time checking around the place? No matter, come with me, I have 5 minutes to show you how everything works in your office."

So we start walking briskly towards the office. We get in and boy is it big. We get to the desk and the manager says,

"Well, let's get started. Okay, first things first, there are cameras throughout the pizzeria which you can view using this prototype touch tablet,"

He shows me how it works and tells me about a light system put in place recently. I just push a button and a light shines in the room that I'm looking at through the cameras or down the hall when I'm not looking at the cameras. He says that the company just refers to it as a flashlight, and explains that it has a limited amount of power because the company hasn't had the time to wire it to the building's power. He shows me two buttons, one on the right and one on the left of the desk. These buttons activate the vent lights. After he explains everything, he turns to leave and tells me,

"Uh, there's a... guy, that'll call you at the start of your shift every night. The phone is a one-way call, him talking to you, so you can only listen to what he says, to save time every night, you know? Anyway, I'm sure he'll answer a few questions you have in your head about the new place and he'll explain how everything works in more detail than I did. Um, I have to go, midnight is a minute away, have a good night and remember to lock up when you leave."

He sounded anxious when he said that, especially when he mentioned the 'guy' who calls at the start of every shift. He left without me saying goodbye, almost jogging down the hall. He really wants to get out of this place as soon as possible, I wonder why. Just as my train of thought takes off, it gets thrown off its tracks by the phone ringing. I pick up the phone and hear the sound of a nervous man's voice.

"Uh, hello? Hello, hello? Uh, hello and welcome to your new summer job at the new and improved Freddy Fazbear's Pizza."

Summer? That's only in the southern hemisphere, though he probably only said that to make the job seem more exciting in a way. How else can you get that right for a night guard's job? Anyway, I start checking the cameras while listening to the phone guy. He explains that he's here to talk me through some of the things I can expect during my first week and to help me down this "new and exciting" career path. He says that I should forget anything I might have heard about the old place, but I don't really pay much attention to this because all I knew was that it closed down a while ago. I start listening again when I hear him say,

"Fazbear Entertainment is committed to family fun and above all, safety."

He tells me that the company spent a small fortune on the new animatronics, installing facial recognition, improving mobility and letting them walk around during the day. He says that they're tied into a criminal database, nervously joking that they should be paying the animatronics to guard me. He carries on, saying that no new system is without its kinks, and he tells me that I'm only the second guard to work at this place. He says that the first guy complained about 'conditions', and that they moved him over to the day shift. He informs me that the first guard's main concern was that certain animatronics were moving around and even tried to get into his office.

"Now, from what we know, that should be impossible. Uh, that restaurant should be the safest place on Earth. So while our engineers don't really have an explanation for this, the working theory is that... The robots were never given a proper 'night mode'. "

He explains that when it gets quiet, the animatronics think they're in the wrong room and try to find where the people are. The only place where they can find a person at night time, is my office. This information is worrying me a bit, but I still listen closely to the call. The guy says that the temporary solution is that there's a music box over by the Prize Corner that can be wound up remotely. He explains that I must wind it up for a few seconds every once in a while. Then, sounding very nervous, he tells me that it only affects one of the animatronics. Well that's very helpful. He continued, saying that there's an even easier solution for the other animatronics.

"You see, there might be a minor glitch in the system, something about robots seeing you as an empty endoskeleton without its costume on, and wanting to stuff you into a suit, so hey, we've given you an empty Freddy Fazbear head, problem solved!"

I look above me and there it is, held up by a mechanical arm. I try putting it on while checking my cameras, but the mechanical arm that holds it is locked. I start worrying a bit more, but I put the tablet down and try again. It fits right over my head. It's so stuffy and enclosed in the thing that I can hear my breathing quite loudly, but I don't mind. He says that I can leave it on for as long as I want to, and that anything that wanders in will wander back out. He says something about the modern design of the building, and that there are no doors for me to close. He tells me that I have a light, and that it's the only thing that can run out of power, so I don't have to worry about the building going dark. He says that he's about done, saying I should be 'golden'. He ends off with,

"Uh, check the lights, put on the Freddy head if you need to, uh, keep the music box wound up, piece of cake. Have a good night, and I'll talk to you tomorrow."

The call ends and I hear just how silent it is in the office without his voice in the background. I just sit for a moment and get try to get used to the place and how everything works. I check the Prize Corner camera feed and notice that the music box was nearly unwound, so I quickly wound it back up. I don't want to find out what that one animatronic will do. I check the time and see that an hour has already gone by. The phone guy was right, this will be a piece of cake. I start checking the other cameras and flashing the light. The way the lighting is planned out is actually a bit shoddy. There are quite large dark patches in some of the rooms, but I guess the place is meant to be open during the day when this won't be a problem.

I check the Parts and Service camera feed and flash my light. Seeing Bonnie without his face and just sitting there on the floor made me a little bit sad, but I guess all good things must come to an end. I put the tablet down and start thinking of ways to pass the time. Without anyone else's voice in the background, this feels like it's taking ages to go by. After sitting doing absolutely nothing for at least 5 minutes, I see a yellow warning sign flashing from the tablet. I pick up my tablet and see that the warning sign is now flashing from the prize corner video feed, which can only mean that the music box is running out of time. I quickly switch to it and wind it back up fully. I check the other cameras and notice that Toy Bonnie is no longer on the show stage.

Where is he? I start frantically searching the cameras, not finding any trace of that robot rabbit. I put the tablet down and check around the room. I check the vents, but they're empty. I look behind me, nothing. Where can this new Bonnie be? I remember the flashlight and check down the hall, still nothing. I realise that I didn't use my flashlight when I was checking the cameras, so I do just that and find Bonnie in the room labelled "Party Room 3", so I immediately calm down. I wind up the music box before putting the tablet down and I notice that my heart is actually beating quite furiously. Thankfully it goes back to normal as soon as it sped up.

So this is what the phone guy meant when he said that the first night guard was complaining about animatronics moving around. I guess I'll have to find out if they actually try to get into the office. This thought makes me wary of how much noise I make, since the phone guy said something about being stuffed into one of the suits if I get caught by the animatronics. I've seen the inside of those suits. There's no way in hell that I'll survive getting stuffed in one, because of the metal endoskeleton. I'm not entirely sure if I'll get stuffed or not, but I don't want to find out.

I check the time, it's 1:40 AM. Time is going by quite a bit faster than I was expecting, which is almost always good. I check the cameras again and see the new Bonnie still standing in Party Room 3 with his red guitar. Looking at him again through the camera feed, this time without panicking, I notice that he's looking at the camera. He knows where the camera is? That's pretty unnerving. I look at the top left of the tablet screen and see a battery for the flashlight. It's only four bars inside a battery icon, and I used one up already. I wish it was more accurate than that, but I guess it'll have to do. I switch to the prize corner video feed and wind up the music box. It's good that I'm already getting into this habit, but I guess it's mainly because of my fear of the unknown.

I check the show stage, the new Freddy and Chica are just standing there, looking ahead of them. As I stare into their lifeless eyes, the camera feed goes black with the words "Signal Interrupted" in the middle of the screen. This startles me, so I check the other cameras only to find that they're offline as well. I can still wind up the music box in the prize corner, but I can't do anything else, so I put the tablet down. I check the vent lights and shine my flashlight down the hall. Nothing. I pick up my tablet to see that the camera feed is still offline, so I just wait. After a minute of staring at the black screen, I put the tablet down and check the lights and the hall, but I still find nothing.

I put the Freddy head on and wait another minute before I check the lights again, finding nothing once more. Maybe I'm worrying a bit too much, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. I check the cameras, still offline. I decide to check the lights and the camera every minute, and eventually they come back online. Feeling relieved, I check every camera feed. I see Toy Bonnie in Party Room 4, with his face right in the camera. He definitely knows where the cameras are. Before I can stare at him any longer, I see a warning sign coming from CAM 11, the prize corner camera, so I immediately switch to it and wind up the music box. I check the show stage after that, and I notice that Toy Freddy is the only one left on the stage.

More calmly than with Toy Bonnie, I check the other cameras and find Toy Chica standing in the Main Hall. For some reason, she doesn't have her beak or her animatronic eyes. She's staring into the camera with those tiny endoskeleton eyes, her beakless mouth open with a creepy smile. She also seems to know where the cameras are, which is quite unnerving. They know I'm watching them. Before I lose my sanity, I put the tablet down. Why would an animatronic just remove some of its own parts? It doesn't make sense to me. Was it programmed that way? Surely not. I check the time, 2 AM. The time is just crawling by, and I don't like it one bit. I guess I just need to calm myself down.

This thought makes me realise that I'm really tense. I relax my muscles and start trembling uncontrollably. I'm legitimately scared right now and I didn't even realise it. I try slowing my breathing, but I just can't find it in me. Maybe if I check the cameras I'll calm down a bit, so I do just that. I check CAM 11 and wind up the music box before anything else, then I check the show stage. It's clear. Toy Freddy is also gone. Another search of the cameras reveal that he's in the game room, standing next to this plastic boy holding balloons in one hand with a sign that reads "BALLOONS" in the other. I have a feeling that the plastic boy is more than just a statue, but before I can process that thought, I nearly fall out of my chair after I hear banging against metal.

What could that possibly be? I feel my heart nearly exploding out of my chest as I search the cameras. I find Toy Bonnie in the right air vent. These things crawl into the vents? What the hell? I guess that's why they put cameras in the vents, but this is just madness. I have two vents and a large hallway to worry about, which reminds me to check the hallway using the flashlight. Toy Chica is standing in the hall with that same creepy smile, holding a cupcake with eyes. As if I wasn't terrified enough. I sit there, completely still for about a minute before I remember that I have a Freddy head to protect me against these things. I put it on and wait for five minutes before doing anything else.

The clock takes its sweet time, but five minutes pass and nothing happens. I check the vent lights and down the hall. Nothing. The new Chica left, so I check the cameras. The new Bonnie is still in the right air vent. Just seeing a robotic rabbit like that in a vent gives me chills, so I check on the Prize Corner and wind up the music box. I check the other cameras, Toy Freddy is still in the game room and I find Toy Chica in Party Room 1 about to crawl into the left vent. Great, the darn chicken also crawls into vents. I put the tablet down and check the vent lights. I see Toy Bonnie by the right light, so I immediately put on the Freddy head.

He stares at me as he walks past me, with a huge and unnerving smile and his eyes wide open. You could swear the lights were flickering. I felt so tense, so I just closed my eyes for ten seconds and calmed down a tiny bit. So the Freddy head does fool them, what a relief. I'm scared to take the head off, but after looking around the office, I see that Bonnie isn't there anymore. Just as my heart rate was returning to normal, it speeds right back up because I hear banging on metal again. It has to be the vents again, and this time I know who it is.

I check the cameras just to confirm that it is Toy Chica in the vent. Excellent. I put the tablet down and use my flashlight, only to see Toy Freddy down the hall. I'm terrified once again, so I put on the Freddy head faster than lightning. I wait for what feels like ten minutes before I take the mask off, simply because I see a warning light flash on the tablet. I check the vent lights and down the hall before winding the music box, finding that Toy Freddy only moved closer to the office. I don't know whether Toy Freddy or the animatronic that's stopped by the music box is more dangerous right now. I have to find a solution to this problem, and fast.

Almost without thinking, I pick up the metal tablet and switch to CAM 11, winding up the music box for exactly five seconds. I put the tablet down and grab hold of the fuzzy Freddy head with lightning speed, pulling it down to cover my own head. I see Toy Freddy standing in the office, hulking over me. The plastic animatronic makes me feel very uncomfortable. It's just standing there without its animatronic eyes, making them seem more lifeless as they stare into mine. I just hear static accompanied by my own terrified breathing, albeit less than when the blue rabbit walked past me. With that, I notice that the lights are flickering. Once again, I close my eyes for a while before opening them again.

Eventually, I open my eyes. The spacious office is free of animatronics now. I check the vent lights and the hallway just to make sure. Turns out that my assumptions weren't true, Toy Chica was waiting for me in the left vent. I put the Freddy head on once more. Even when I hear more banging on metal, I only take it off again when I see a warning light from the tablet. I check the vent lights and the hall using my flashlight only to find emptiness. I pick up the tablet and wind up the music box once again, almost dropping the metal device when I'm finished.

I give myself half a minute before I check the other cameras to keep my heart inside my chest. During this time, I think of why the lights flickered when the new Bonnie and Freddy were in the office. I guess it has to do with the static. The time passes before I know it, so I pick up the cold tablet and find that the bird moved back to the main hall, the rabbit moved back to Party Room 3 and the fat bear is back on stage. Back to where they first moved, except for the new Freddy.

Looking at Toy Freddy, I remember that he also removed his animatronic eyes, but only when he was in the office. This makes me wonder why the animatronics remove parts of themselves anyway. Maybe it's programmed because those parts are easily damaged? But then again, what could possibly damage those parts at this time of the night? The second question made me drop that theory as fast as it appeared in my mind. Why would Toy Bonnie keep his eyes in, but the others don't? Not forgetting that the new Freddy only took his out when he was in the office. None of this makes sense to me. Perhaps there's more to these animatronics, and this company for that matter, than meets the eye. I put the tablet down on the cold desk and check the time. It's 4:35 AM.

Time was crawling 2 hours ago, but now it's speeding by. I need to last just under an hour and a half more, and the animatronics seem to be calming down. I wish I had a way to slow them down, so that they wouldn't come at me as fast as they did the first time. If I had a way to do that, then the rest of the night would be a breeze. Unfortunately, I'll have to deal with them when they arrive without any way to delay them. Hopefully they won't team up on me like they did a while ago, I'd probably have a heart attack if they do. I'm sure that I'm better off dealing with them one at a time. To think that I have to work a full week here, who knows what can happen? Actually I don't have to work a full week here, I can quit whenever I want to. Well, not right now because those things are on the loose, but when I'm done here.

Yes, when I'm done with this shift, I can quit when I get home. Of course, my mom would be disappointed that I quit a job that I just started, but my life is at stake here. Stopping this train of thought, I realise that I might as well have been asleep for the past 10 minutes, since I wasn't doing anything but talking to myself in my head. I check the cameras, winding up the music box before doing anything else. I find that Toy Bonnie moved all the way to Party Room 2, where he was kneeling to get into the vent again. Toy Freddy is back in the game room and the new Chica was nowhere to be found. I check down the hall using my flashlight and there she is. Toy Chica and Bonnie seem like they're impatient.

I just want to go home now, this is too much for me. When the animatronics aren't here, it's mind numbingly boring, with the clock taking as long as it likes. When the animatronics are here, it's horrifically terrifying, with the clock speeding by. Thinking about it now, when the animatronics are close to me, it tests both my quick thinking and physical reflexes. It's almost fun. Almost. I'm not exactly a thrill seeker, but this kind of makes me see why you find people that are.

The sound of an animatronic crawling into the vents interrupts my thoughts, so I quickly check the cameras to see who it is. Surprisingly, it's the new Chica instead of the new Bonnie, whom I was expecting. I check the other cameras, the rabbit was still in Party Room 2 and Toy Freddy was nowhere to be found. I wind up the music box before putting the tablet down and checking the hallway. As expected, the bear is there. I put on its predecessor's head and wait. What feels like a minute later, I hear sounds from the vents again, but I'm not sure which one.

I keep the furry head on, waiting for something to happen. Just as I decide to take the head off, I hear static and a certain blue rabbit walks past me, facing me with wide eyes and causing the lights to flicker once more. I close my eyes again, opening them when the static fades. After hearing vent sounds once more, I push the head up to its natural resting place and check the vent lights and the empty hallway. Toy Freddy didn't stick around this time, and a camera sweep reveals that Toy Chica didn't either. I can breathe easy again. I know how to deal with these robots now. While winding up the music box, I think that I should actually come back tomorrow night. I have a rough strategy down and this is actually a bit fun, so I might just decide to do so, not to mention that I also get some cash at the end of the week. I check the time once more. It's 5:20 AM.

40 minutes left. What do I do with so much time? I feel like this is just time gone to waste, but then again I get paid for it at the end of the week. After sitting still for a minute, I notice that I'm trembling again. I don't know how long this has been happening, but I don't think about that while I try to stop it. Out of boredom, I check the cameras again. Toy Freddy is on stage, Toy Chica is in the main hall and Toy Bonnie is in Party Room 4. I switch to the Parts/Services camera and shine the flashlight, letting my mind drift off to my past while staring at the old Bonnie. I barely notice that it twitched. Is this thing still active?

Fear flowing through me once again, I watch and wait. Maybe it was just an illusion. Before I can study it for another minute, the flashlight suddenly goes out. What's this? I check its battery, completely empty. This is bad. I switch to CAM 11 and wind up the music box and check for the Toy animatronics. Thankfully I don't need the flashlight to see where they are, but as I look into the new Chica's endoskeleton eyes, the screen goes static with the words "SIGNAL INTERRUPTED" in the middle of the screen.

40 minutes left without any flashlight power and a jammed camera feed. It sounds like a recipe for disaster, but I should be able to make it through the rest of the night without too much trouble. My biggest problem is the fact that I can't see down the dark hall. I guess the most obvious solution is to leave the Freddy head on when I'm not winding up the music box. Thinking of that blasted music box, I switch over to CAM 11 and wind it back up before putting the tablet on the desk and pulling the hollow head over my own.

Around ten utterly boring minutes later, the warning light from the music box flashes, so I hurriedly rectify that error. As I wind up the music box for the hundredth time tonight, I realise that the camera feed is back online. After making a quick round of checking the cameras, I put the device down on the cold desk and slip the Freddy head on once again. Toy Bonnie moved to Party Room 4, Toy Freddy to the Game Room, and Toy Chica nowhere to be found without a flashlight. These animatronics seem to have a pattern, so she could either be in Party Room 1 or the hall leading to my office.

Right now, the only reason I'm keeping this head on is because of the possibility that either the new Chica is down the hall or that the new Freddy might move there after a short while. If it is the animatronic bird down the hall, then that means it's only 2 more steps away from the office, Party Room 1 and the left air vent. The same goes for the new Bonnie, the only exception being that he's coming from the right side. I wonder who will try to kill me first before the night ends: the beakless bird or the reckless rabbit. Of course, this is just some guessing game, but it keeps me from getting too bored. After a few more minutes of waiting in utter silence apart from the buzzing of the fan, I hear loud banging on metal.

Slightly stunned by this, I didn't notice the source of the sound, so I picked up the tablet only to realise that I need the flashlight to see anything going on in the vents. Disappointed, I put the tablet back down to find Toy Freddy hulking over me once again. The sound of static and the flickering lights remind me to put on his predecessor's head. I can only hope that I'm not too late. Once the static fades, all I hear is the sound of my heart thumping against my chest while I lift the fuzzy head. Still dazed by this, I barely notice the warning light flashing bright red on the tablet. Slowly, I pick up the tablet and wind up the music box once again, which was only a hair away from being completely unwound.

The sound of banging on metal interrupts my current activity and causes my head to twitch toward the source. Toy Bonnie is in the right vent now, so it was Toy Chica who got in the vents a minute ago. I nearly dropped the tablet down on the desk with the music box half wound up and I pull the Freddy head on. While waiting for something to happen, I try to collect myself. I realise that I'm actually in quite a heavy state of panic, only made worse by the blue rabbit strolling past me with wide eyes. I keep my eyes closed for the next few minutes to try and calm down. Unfortunately, that too is interrupted by a new and faster tune, sounding like it comes from a music box.

Realising that I haven't checked the music box for a while, I hastily pick up the device on the desk to find that the circle that shows the music box progress is no longer there. Now the one animatronic that I've been doing my best to keep at bay is after me too. Anticipating my death caused me to nearly fall out of my chair as I heard a bell ring. I check the cameras, but the tablet screen is blank. It can't be a power failure since the fan is still running, so what can it be? I absent-mindedly check the time only to see the clock at 6 AM. Letting out a huge sigh of relief, I get up and swiftly make my way out of the pizzeria.

Before I walk more than two steps out of the building I remember that I have to lock up. After fishing for the keys in my pocket, I slowly selected the right one and locked the door, hardly failing to notice that the animatronics were all back on stage. They seem to know when their playtime is over. It reminds me of when I used to go to the old place. I was always one of the last kids to leave, and even when I eventually did so, I looked back and stared into the place with my mom dragging me by my arm. Those animatronics never ceased to amaze me, the way they walked back on stage with very little trouble.

Here I am again, staring at the animatronics from the outside. The only difference is the fact that I work here now. Sighing once again, this time from nostalgia, I turn to walk the short distance to my car. I almost hesitate to start the engine and drive away, but a sudden wave of fatigue rushes over me, causing me to get back to my apartment as soon as possible. Thankfully I don't need to drive far in the early morning darkness with the stench of sweat in my car.

* * *

 _(A/N: I'm surprised to see just how long one night is in one chapter. I may just shorten the later parts to avoid repetition, so if anyone feels that a night is too repetitive, it shouldn't be a problem for much longer, just let me know in a review :) Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter!)_


	3. Fragments of the Truth

**Fragments of the Truth**

The first thing that comes to mind when I enter my apartment is a hot shower, so I do just that. Before I know it, I find my head hitting the pillow on my bed. The next thing I see is complete darkness, but it feels like I'm awake. I try moving, but the only thing that responds is my neck. Even so, I can only move it side to side. I start hearing the sound of a motor as I turn my head, and my eyes shoot open. Slowly but surely, my eyes adjust to the darkness, and I see that I'm looking through a mask of some sort. I can just barely make out a silhouette of triangular shapes in front of me.

I turn to the left to find a silhouette that resembles a bird. While I turn to the right, I hear the faint sound of children laughing. I'm met with another silhouette, but I can't make out any defining features on this one. I stare at it, waiting for my eyes to adjust enough to find out what this thing is. I can't help but notice that the children's laughter is getting louder and clearer. This seems all too familiar, but I can't quite put my finger on what it is. The sound of pain in the children's laughter brings a faint memory into my mind. It isn't until I recognise the figure on my right as Bonnie that I remember where this is from.

I slowly turn to the left, confirming that those triangular shapes from earlier are party hats in front of me. The volume and clarity of the children's laughter tells me that it isn't laughter at all, the children are crying. The only thing left to confirm my suspicions is Chica, who I find is standing to my left. The only difference from this dream and the last is the fact that Bonnie and Chica seem to be looking at me, instead of across the stage. I know that I'm dreaming, but I still have no control over this, with the exception of turning my head. The children's crying along with the restriction of this dream has turned it into a nightmare. I can't take it anymore, so I try screaming but no sound comes out. I can't even close my eyes. I feel my heart rate rising, and the sound of static accompanies the bleeding darkness.

I faintly hear the words "It's me" before I find my eyes shoot open, only to shut again due to the bright rays of sunlight hitting my face. I lie still for several minutes, wondering how I can have two dreams that are so similar just a day apart. It's not until my face heats up from the hot sun that I decide to get out of bed. I regret not closing the shutters before I went to bed last night, but there's nothing I can do about that now, so I shove it out of my mind. Groggily, I walk over to my kitchenette to make something to eat. Breakfast at 3 in the afternoon is quite unusual, but I guess it comes with the night shift. After frying and eating my last egg with some toast, I walk over to my couch to unwind through watching TV.

Unfortunately, my TV isn't enough to keep my mind's questions at the back of my head for long. Who is "me"? Why was this nightmare so similar to my previous dream? Why was I so restricted even after I realised it was a dream? More importantly, why was I even having these dreams? Something doesn't feel right, and I don't like it one bit. Now that I think about it, the "mask" in my dreams reminds me of when I have the Freddy head covering my own. As a matter of fact, I'd say it's identical. That only leaves me with another question: how would I have a dream about something that I had yet to experience?

The sound of the telephone ringing brings the uncomfortable flow of answerless questions to a halt. I walk briskly to the source of the noise and pick up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey Jeremy,"

"Oh, hey mom,"

"How are you?" She asks, with a hint of haste evident in her voice.

"I'm good thanks, and you?"

"Nothing to complain about. You know what I called to ask you about by now." She says with an unnervingly serious tone.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." I reply sarcastically, hoping to get a more relaxed atmosphere over this phone call.

"Ha ha, very funny. So did you get a job or not?" She says, sounding like an impatient child waiting to receive a gift.

"Yes, I got a job yesterday. More specifically, the night shift at the new and improved Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. Are you happy now?" I say with an annoyed tone.

"Of course I'm glad to hear that my only child finally got out of his apartment and got a job." She replies, almost sarcastically. That single sentence causes both my mom and I to lighten up and actually talk about things other than having a job. I didn't tell her anything about my life being in danger, mainly because I plan on going back and I don't want her to ruin this for me.

Eventually we say our goodbyes. This is something that I wasn't exactly looking forward to because now I have nothing to keep my mind occupied, which means that the tedious speculation resumes. Fortunately for me, a mere ten minutes later the telephone's ringing brings me back to reality.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Jeremy! It's the manager from Freddy's. I tried calling you a short while ago, but the line was busy. Anyway, I just called to ask how your first night was." He replies excitedly.

"Oh, hi. My first night was actually quite enjoyable." Most of the time.

"That's good to hear, so there won't be a problem in regards to you coming back for the rest of the week, right?" He asks with a slightly nervous tone.

"Absolutely not."

"Excellent! Uh, in case I forget, stay at the pizzeria after your shift on Friday for your pay cheque." He says, sounding relieved.

"Alright, I'll do that." I reply, trying my best to keep my suspicion unnoticed in my tone.

"Great! That's all I wanted to say to you, enjoy the rest of your day!"

"Thanks, same to-"

Before I can finish my sentence, he cuts me off by dropping the phone. It seems like there's something he's trying to hide, but he needs to try harder to keep suspicion at bay. This phone call only leaves me with more questions. Why was he nervous? What's he trying to hide? I guess I'll find out since I have a week to do just that. It isn't long before my mind is flooded with more questions. Thankfully, the thought of heading to the store to pick up some groceries pops up among the endless questions, so I make myself presentable and, after checking for what I need, head out to the store.

An hour later, I find myself in my apartment once again. After packing the groceries away, I make my way over to my couch. Now that I have nothing to keep my mind occupied, I plop down onto my couch. The questions begin flooding my mind once again, keeping me from noticing that I'm drowsy. Before I can even realise it, everything goes dark as I find myself dozing off on my couch.

I open my eyes after what feels like a second. Hastily I check the time only to find that I've been asleep for a lot longer than a mere second; it's 11:40 PM. Without thinking, I make my way out of my apartment, grabbing both the keys to my car and the pizzeria in the process. Before I know it, I'm walking into the large office for my second shift, but something feels strange. I can barely remember the drive here and it feels like I didn't even go through the front door. Pushing those thoughts aside, I adjust myself in the chair behind the desk while I wait for 12 AM. Strangely enough, something feels off about this as well. When did I sit down? I guess I'm just thinking too hard.

The clock speedily ticks to 12 AM and my shift officially begins. After about 5 minutes, I remember that there's supposed to be a phone call coming in about now to explain a few things. Heavily confused, I try to take my mind off the strange night by checking on the animatronics. The Toys are all on stage and all of the old animatronics are slumped in the same positions in the Parts/Service room as they were during the previous night. At least that's normal. I switch over to CAM 11 to wind up the music box only to find that it's nearly completely unwound. Last night it took around 10 minutes for it to flash the first warning light, which is still at least 3 minutes from it actually unwinding completely. As a matter of fact, I didn't even see any warning light before switching to the Prize Corner video feed.

Brushing it off as being caught in my thoughts once again, I routinely wind up the music box, making sure to check it every 4 minutes. Putting the metal device down on the cold desk, my eyes wander to the clock, seeing that it's already 1 AM. What the hell? It feels like I've only been sitting here for a few minutes at most, and it's already 1 AM? Something is definitely off, but I can't put my finger on it. Picking up the bulky tablet again, I notice that it automatically switched to CAM 12, the Kid's Cove camera feed. Flashing my light, I see the same freaky mangle of wires on the ground, only this time, I hear a noise that reminds me of radio interference. After studying the "animatronic" for some time, I switch back to CAM 11 to wind up the music box, noticing one thing as I do just that.

The radio interference stopped, which means that it must be coming from the mangle of wires that I assume is supposed to be Toy Foxy. It's strange how I never noticed this strange sound last night, but that's probably because I checked the other cameras most of the time. Without checking the other cameras, I put the tablet down only to regret making that decision as the new Bonnie jumps towards my face. I don't even have time to react as I am consumed by darkness. Unbearable pain is all I'm met with as I try to open my eyes. Trying to move any part of my body proves to be just as futile, but without pain. Before I can process this, my eyes uncontrollably shoot open, and my two primary senses are met with the sight and sound of static.

The static continues for a minute before I'm engulfed in darkness once again, silence filling my ears until I hear muffled voices which gradually become clearer.

"Is he active yet?" Says a man.

"No, just gimme a sec," replies another.

"Well, you'd better hurry because the kids have been waiting for quite a while, and you know just how impatient a few of those brats can be,"

"Yeah, yeah, cut it out already, I'm almost done here."

"In that case, I'll go tell those dumb kids that Foxy's ready for the treasure hunt."

After hearing the faint sound of footsteps, my vision returns. I find myself only being able to move my eyes to see my surroundings, which isn't very helpful because all I see is a purple curtain.

"Finally I get this damn thing up and running," says the first man.

"Alright Foxy, are you ready?" Shouts the second, with cheerful shouts coming from children in the background. The sound of this causes me to gradually gain control of my body. My first instinct is to look around, but that's interrupted by the first man ripping the curtain open and shouting,

"Alright Foxy, GO! GO! GO!"

At this point, I realise that I'm inside Foxy, which means that I have to run to the kids to start the treasure hunt, if I recall correctly. Surprisingly, the metal endoskeleton proves to be just as easy to control as my real body. Before I know it, I'm in a room with 5 cheering kids, confetti being strewn all over the place. The pure joy in the atmosphere is enough to put a smile on anyone's face, but for some reason one of the children look as though they've lost their teddy bear. With a very sad expression on his face, he has his arms held up high as if he's celebrating with the other children. Unfortunately, my analysing is cut short when the children fade away, and a familiar purple curtain is closed in front of me.

"Aren't you gonna deactivate him now?" Says the second man.

"No, it's too much work getting him up and running again since he's so old. You know how to deactivate him so I'll be taking an early leave from work today," replies the first.

"Here you are again, leaving work early, but whatever," says the second man, relief barely evident in his tone.

"See ya on Monday," says the first, followed by slowly fading footsteps.

"Perfect, now I can give those kids what they really deserve, but I'll let them see their favourite animatronic one last time," says the second. Without giving me any time to process what I heard, he shouts,

"Ready? GO! GO! GO!"

Without any actual control over Foxy's body anymore, I run into the room with cheering children again. More confetti is strewn across the floor, and I see the same child with the same sad expression holding his arms up in fake cheering. Something is clearly troubling him, but he doesn't say anything. Once again, I find the children fading away, and the curtain shut in front of my face again. The next thing I hear is heart wrenching: Maniacal laughter and children's screams, followed by the second man's voice:

"Ready, Foxy? GO! GO! GO!"

The curtain is ripped open by a smirking man clad in purple. The first thing I notice is the fact that there's no cheering coming from the party room, which makes me sprint to where the children are. The sight in front of me makes me regret running so fast. All five of the once cheery children are now lying in gray heaps, dead on the floor with tear-stained cheeks. I try moving towards them, but I find myself slowing down with every step until everything fades to darkness.

With my eyes wide open, I see a faint light in the darkness, and I can feel that I'm standing on solid ground. Instinctively I find myself moving towards the light, only to find Foxy letting out a painful scream while flying at me with his mouth wide open. I find myself shaking violently on the floor before I realise where I am, in my apartment. I let my body go limp as I try to collect myself. I've never had a nightmare that horrifying before. Not only that, but I also felt trapped in it. You'd think that I'd have woken up after Bonnie sprang at me, but unfortunately that wasn't the case.

My breathing becoming even again, I slowly crawl onto my couch to think. Staring at the ceiling, the image of the dead children pops into my mind again. They were obviously murdered, but why? Judging by what I heard, it had to be the man dressed in purple. He must have worked at the pizzeria and grown hatred for the kids. I know kids can get quite annoying, but why work at a children's location if you hate them so much that you would kill them? I feel a tear make its way down my face before I get up and check the time. Wiping my tear-blurred eyes, I see that it's 9:40 PM.

I have 3 hours to bring my gloomy mood up, guess I might as well try to relax and unwind through watching some TV. It's been on for a few hours, so I can only hope that my electricity bill isn't too high. I guess it's a good thing I have a job now. I switch to a comedy channel, but it doesn't help my mood in the slightest. Sorrow stings my heart as I think about the children once again. Even though it was only a dream, it felt so real. Real or not, the thought of innocent children being killed by some sadistic madman is just sickening.

Slowly, my mind drifts away from negative thoughts long enough for my stomach to growl. My appetite finally returns, and with a vengeance. Making and eating a quick meal actually puts a smile on my face. My mood is much brighter after that minor depression of mine. Before I know it, I find myself driving to my next shift at Freddy's. I know for sure that this job is going to keep my mind occupied, which is something to look forward to. I get out of my car once I park in the spot closest to the entrance, pinching myself just to make sure I'm not dreaming again. The sharp pain confirms that I am awake, so I unlock the front door and head inside.

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 _(A/N: There's the last chapter for today. The next ones will obviously take a lot longer to get up, since they still need to be typed up. I'll try to post at least one chapter per week, but stuff might get in the way of that, as most authors know. Hope you enjoyed, and please leave a review! It only helps me to improve my writing!)_


	4. A Night to be Forgotten

_(A/N: Hey! I'm finally back! Sorry I took so long, I've had schoolwork piling on top of me, then our grade went on camp, then my internet died and when I wanted to finish this chapter, writer's block hit me like a train. You may notice that my writing is slightly different after the midway point of the chapter. That's because I typed up half of it a month and a half ago, and I finished the other half just now. Another thing, you guys can expect a story on FNaF 4 titled "Home" from me soon. It'll be similar to "Fear" if you read that, so if you liked that make sure you don't miss this one. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed finishing it today :) It's currently 2:48 AM where I am, and I wouldn't want to spend a night doing anything else right now)_

* * *

 **A Night to be Forgotten**

I walk relatively slowly, staring at the toy animatronics who will try to kill me tonight. With the image of their soulless faces burned in my mind, I make my way through the dark hall and end up in the large office where I'll be spending the rest of the night. I sit down and wait a few minutes for the phone to ring, signalling the start of my shift. I pick up the phone and the same guy from last night starts speaking.

"Ah...hello, hello! Uh, see, I told you your first night wouldn't be a problem. You're a natural!"

His false praise amusing me slightly, I let out a small chuckle. He correctly states that I'm sure to have noticed the older models in the back room, telling me that they're just used for parts now. He says that they were originally going to repair them, even retrofitting them with some of the newer technology, but apparently they were just "so ugly" and had a "smell".

"The smell...uh, so the company decided to go in a whole new direction and make them super kid-friendly. Uh, those older ones shouldn't be able to walk around, but if they do, the whole Freddy head trick should work on them too, so, whatever."

Wait, what? So when I saw one of them twitch yesterday, it was actually still active?

"Oh wait, hold on...oh yeah, Foxy. Uh, hey listen, that one was always a bit twitchy, uh...I'm not sure if the Freddy head trick will work on Foxy. Uh, if for some reason he activates during the night and you see him standing at the far end of the hall, just flash your light at him."

He gives me an explanation as to why that works, something about a system restart and the older models being disoriented with bright lights. Carrying on, he says that it might hold something undesirable in place for a few seconds if I shine the light at it through the camera feed. Lastly, he says I shouldn't forget the music box.

"I'll be honest, I never liked that puppet thing. It was always...thinking, and it can go anywhere...I don't think a Freddy mask will fool it, so just don't forget the music box. Anyway, I'm sure it won't be a problem. Uh, have a good night, and talk to you tomorrow."

"Puppet thing"? Is that what's in the music box? I'm just going with the phone guy on that, because I seriously don't want to find out. I decide to check on said music box because I've just realised that I haven't been checking on the animatronics. With the box fully wound up, I check the other cameras only to find that neither Toy Freddy nor his friends have moved. Before I put the bulky tablet down, I check CAM 12 and I'm surprised to hear the same radio interference that I heard in my dream. Chances are, it's always been there and I only notice it now.

Putting the large metal device down on the desk, I check the vent lights and flash my light down the hall to find nothing. So, I might have to worry about the old animatronics as well now? I guess a little bit of added challenge won't hurt too much. If they're anything like the toys, I shouldn't have a problem. Learning from my previous mistake, I decide to make use of my flashlight a lot less than I did before, since it could end up saving my life.

My thoughts are interrupted by a very child-like "hello" echoing through the halls. What the hell could that be? Instinctively, I check all the cameras, failing to notice any difference in any of the rooms. I convince myself that it can't just be in my head, so I check every detail of every room to see if there's anything different. After a few minutes of close inspection, I notice that the plastic boy that was once in the Game Room holding his sign that reads "BALLOONS" is no longer standing there.

Of course the one animatronic that the phone guy said nothing about has to become active. To be honest, it looks more like a statue than an animatronic, so I don't blame him if he didn't know what it really is. My only problem right now is the fact that I have no idea where he is, so I search the cameras for around 5 minutes only to find no trace of him.

I switch back to CAM 12 to wind up the music box before putting the tablet down on the desk. I check the vent lights to find nothing, but after flashing my light down the hall, I see Foxy standing at the far end, holding his hook up in the air and with his jaw hanging down. I flash the light on and off, hoping to see him retreat down the hall, but I only end up jamming it. Trying to turn it on again results in a buzzing sound that tells me there's a problem of some sort.

I start trembling as I realise that I may have just screwed up my only defence against Foxy. I pull down on the Freddy head, hoping that the phone guy was wrong about him not getting fooled by it. I shudder in my seat until the warning light flashes from the large tablet, so I swiftly check the vent lights before winding the music box again.

As I wind it up, I notice the same radio interference that the mangled animatronic emits. Trying to use the flashlight actually works, so I check around the room only to find said animatronic hanging from the ceiling. I can only hope that the Freddy head will work on this one, because it's absolutely terrifying. I have no idea how this thing even moves, let alone how it hangs from the ceiling like a spider.

In an attempt to shove away my fear, I check the other cameras to find that the new Bonnie and Chica have left the stage. Toy Bonnie is in Party Room 3 while Toy Chica is nowhere to be found, so I put down the tablet in favour of checking down the hall. Luckily, my flashlight works again, revealing the plastic bird standing where Foxy once was.

I pull the Freddy head on for a minute before checking down the hall again to see that Foxy swapped with Toy Chica. I flash the light on and off again, this time being a bit more cautious to avoid jamming it again. Unfortunately my caution has no effect, leaving me without the flashlight once more. Disappointed, I pick up the tablet and wind the music box before checking on the other animatronics.

Toy Freddy moved to the game room, with the mangled animatronic hanging above him. The bright blue Bonnie moved all the way to party room 2 with Toy Chica in the opposite room, both of them kneeling by the vents. An hour into my shift and things are starting to get interesting. Suddenly, very childish giggling echoes through the halls. It has to be the balloon boy, but I haven't seen him on any of the cameras.

The sound of metal clinking and clanging snaps me out of my thoughts, and I instinctively check the vent cameras. Surprisingly, they're both bare. I put down the metal device and check the vent lights to find nothing. Flashing my now working flashlight down the hall reveals emptiness. My mind can't be playing tricks on me now, so I check the cameras again. I notice that the entanglement of wires has moved to the main hall, so my stubbornness hasn't been in vain.

That means that the clinking and clanging sound is the mangled animatronic moving, while banging on metal is an animatronic crawling into the vents. Simple enough to remember, yet it could be the most important thing I learn tonight. As if it's on cue, I hear Bonnie crawl into the vent on my right. I switch over to the Prize Corner video feed to wind up the music box before putting the bulky tablet down on the desk.

As I check the vent lights, I hear a child say "Hi" before hearing banging on the left vent. I flash my light down the hall, only for it to get jammed while I hear the entanglement of wires move around. All the animatronics are moving around at once, and I don't like it one bit. I keep checking the vent lights until the clinking stops. I try flashing my light as soon as I notice this and surprisingly enough, it works again, revealing the messed up Toy Foxy hanging from the ceiling.

This can only mean that when the animatronics move down the hall, it causes interference with my light. How or why this happens, I have no idea, but I think it has something to do with the static coming from the animatronics. How else would the lights flicker whenever one of them is in the office? Before I can dwell on the thought any longer, I hear loud childish giggling to my left. Upon inspection of the vent light, I'm shocked to see the balloon boy instead of Toy Chica in there.

I pull down on the hollow head above me to cover my own, and as I hear the balloon boy retreating through the left vent, Toy Bonnie walks past me. I feel my grip loosening on the Freddy head while the lights flicker. The robotic rabbit's mouth and eyes are wide open as it walks past, staring at me. My fingers slide off of the hollow mask, but surprisingly it's locked in place, flipping back up once Bonnie leaves.

I shine the light down the hall with cold and shaky fingers and I see Foxy standing at the far end, with his messed up toy counterpart hanging down in the front, its jaw hanging low. The most unnerving thing about this is the fact that the spider animatronic lacks both of its animatronic eyes, white dots of its endoskeleton eyes taking their place. It's just like Toy Chica – removing her eyes and beak once she gets off stage – and Toy Freddy – removing his eyes when he's in my office.

Why do these new animatronics do that? If anything it makes them look scary, which should not be in their programming. The mangled animatronic looks especially scary with its jaw hanging down like that. I can understand that the old Foxy's jaw hangs because he's in a state of heavy disrepair, but this one just doesn't make sense.

An orange warning light derails my train of thought, so after flashing the light down the hall and inspecting the vent lights, I pick up the cold metal tablet to wind up the music box. A quick camera sweep reveals the new Bonnie and Freddy moved back to the show stage while Chica crawled in the vent. I swiftly put the device down to check down the hall, but the flashlight is jammed once more. The vent lights show me nothing but emptiness as I hear metal clanging to my right.

A few minutes roll by before the second hour of my shift is upon me. Toy Chica shows her lifeless face by the left vent light, so I pull on the Freddy head. I hear an animatronic crawl into the right vent while Toy Chica retreats through the left vent. After shining my light down an empty hall, I check the right vent to find the tangled animatronic scrunched up in there. As if this thing wasn't surprising enough, it somehow made its way into the right air vent.

I switch to CAM 12 to wind up the music box once again before checking the other cameras. The new Bonnie moved to Party Room 4 while Chica moved back to the main hall, leaving Freddy nowhere to be found. Childish laughter echoes through the halls once more as I put the bulky tablet down on the desk. Shining my light down the hall reveals Toy Freddy standing at the far end. The vent lights show me nothing, so I decide to check Parts and Service just to make sure all the old animatronics are still there.

As expected, they're all still slumped over or lying on the floor, so I put the tablet down to see the fat animatronic bear hulking over me. Wide-eyed and at lightning speed, I pull on his predecessor's head only for my hands to slip off once the mask covers my head. Surprisingly, the mechanism locks into place again as the lights flicker. The static fades, leaving only the sound of my heavy breathing as the fuzzy head snaps back into place.

My heart beats wildly while I check who's down the hall or in the vents. Finding nothing, I check on the Prize Corner video feed to wind up the music box. I put the tablet down and sit completely still in an attempt to calm myself down. Toy Freddy moved down the hall a lot faster than last night, which was really unexpected. My breathing slows down along with my heart rate as I sit in complete silence.

After 2 minutes, I check the hallway and the vents before checking the cameras. Having just wound up the music box, I ignore it in favour of checking on the animatronics. Toy Chica and Freddy moved back on stage, while Toy Bonnie stayed in Party Room 4. I see the mangled Toy Foxy in Party Room 2 before the camera signal is jammed and I hear scrambling in the right vent. I tense up, putting the tablet on the desk again before hearing radio interference on my right.

Without checking the vent lights, I pull on the Freddy head so it covers my own until I hear the spider fox scramble out of the vent. Relieved, I flash the light down the hall once more, showing Foxy standing there again with his hook held high. After checking the vent lights and flashing down the hall again, I notice that I've lost a bar of power from the flashlight. I don't know how long it's been that way, so I can only hope that I'll have enough for the rest of the night.

I hear an animatronic entering the right vent again, and at this point I can only assume that it's Toy Bonnie. I try flashing the light down the hall again only to hear a buzzing noise, so I decide to pull on the Freddy head in anticipation of Toy Bonnie walking in and out of my office. After a minute of waiting, the warning light flashes from the tablet. Just as I try to lift the Freddy head, it locks into place. The sound of static fills the room as the lights flicker, with the robotic rabbit walking right before my eyes, staring into them with his own lifeless ones.

I'm not sure if the locking of the mechanical arm was intended or not, but it's a lifesaver. I hastily pick up the rapidly flashing tablet to wind up the music box, and as I do just that I hear the Balloon Boy greet the echoing halls. I flash my light down the hall when I'm done, and I find it free from animatronics. All of the animatronics are away from the office, so I have some time to calm down before having to deal with any stressful situations. I glance at the clock to find that it's 2:50 AM. I still have over 3 hours left?

Feeling my rapidly beating heart slow back down to normal, I flash down the hall and make a quick camera sweep with a nagging sense of dread in the pit of my stomach. Toy Chica's in the Main Hall, Toy Freddy and the entanglement of wires are in the Game Area while Toy Bonnie moved to Party Room 3. Once again I'm unable to find the Balloon Boy on the cameras, but I don't let that bother me. I put the silver tablet down on the metal desk once more as I shine the flashlight down the hall, revealing the torn up Foxy standing there yet again.

After flicking the flashlight on and off, I find myself staring at the desk. I notice an empty soda cup and a scrunched up piece of paper. I ask myself how the hell I only notice it now when those things have likely been there since before I started working my shift. Nevertheless, I reach out to grab the paper and open it up, but I'm temporarily frozen by the sound of clinking and clanking. I feel my hands tightening and I realise just how tense I am. I relax my shoulders a little bit before spreading the piece of paper out on the desk.

Before I examine it, I decide to check the vent lights and cameras again. The mangled animatronic moved to the Main Hall, Toy Bonnie and Freddy stayed where they were and Toy Chica moved out of the view of the cameras. I wind up the music box before putting the tablet back down and flashing my light down the hall once more. As expected, the plastic yellow bird is standing there. Since the animatronics are starting to move in again, I make a slightly hasty examination of the page. I scrunch it up again after seeing that it's only a schedule of events happening at the pizzeria.

The only thing I bothered remembering was a birthday scheduled for the 13th, this Sunday, and the fact that it dated back to last week when the place re-opened. That last night guard was quite a messy guy, leaving his trash on the desk just like that. Honestly, how difficult is it for a person to pick up their trash and throw it in a bin? The sudden sound of the mangled animatronic moving around snaps me out of my thoughts. I try shining the light down the hall only to be greeted by the same buzzing sound caused by interference of some sort. While constantly tapping the button I hear a child-like "Hello" echo through the halls once again, only this time it's accompanied by the sound of an animatronic crawling into the vents.

I pick up the tablet from the cold desk and check who it is, finding the Balloon Boy barely fitting in there. Slightly annoyed, I wind up the music box and resume my attempts at shining the flashlight down the hall. Eventually it lights up and I see Foxy and the mangled Toy Foxy in the hall. Now that I know who's down the hall, I decide to check the cameras again after a quick check of the vent lights. Finding nothing, I search the various cameras until I'm interrupted by loud childish laughter to my left. I hurriedly put the tablet down and check the left vent light to see Balloon Boy waiting for me there.

I flash down the hall for good measure before pulling down on the Freddy head to send Balloon Boy away. After 30 seconds of holding it down I hear said animatronic clambering out of the vent, and I let out a sigh of relief only to hold it back in at the sound of banging on metal coming from both left and right. I check the cameras to find the beakless bird in the left vent and the robotic rabbit in the right. My heart pounding against my chest, I search the other cameras to find the entanglement of wires in Party Room 1 and nothing else.

I wind up the music box before putting the tablet back down and shining the light down the long hall. The big brown Toy Freddy Fazbear made his way into the hall directly in front of my office once again. It seems as if the three main animatronics are teaming up on me while the others come at me individually. This only makes things a lot more dangerous than I'd like them to be, but I'll just have to grit my teeth and bear with it for now. I rub the bridge of my nose as I think of what I should do right now. After 10 seconds I decide to pull down on the fuzzy Freddy head while I continue to think.

After what feels like a minute, I decide to pull the Freddy head up and flash down the hall every 20 seconds to delay Toy Freddy. That way I can have a little bit of time when I have to wait for Toy Chica or Bonnie to move out of the vents. I shine my light down the hall and see that he's still standing there, so I check the vent lights to see that the other two haven't made a move yet. I carry on with my plan, and after the third time of shining down the hall and checking vent lights, Toy Chica decides to show her face at the left vent.

I flash the light on and off thrice down the hall before pulling the Freddy head back on, and I begin waiting for the sunshine yellow bird to crawl out of the vent. While I wait, the sounds of clinking, clanking, clanging and childish laughter echo through the empty halls. The mangled animatronic must have moved to Party Room 2 then. A minute passes and Toy Chica finally decides to leave the vent. I quickly shine the flashlight down the hall and check the right vent, only to find that both Toy Freddy and Bonnie are now one step closer to the office.

Exhaling quite loudly, I pull the Freddy head on again and wait for Toy Bonnie to walk by. About 25 seconds pass and the warning light from the tablet flashes. I find myself clenching my teeth and tightening my grip on the Freddy head. Toy Bonnie eventually walks by as the warning light changes to red and starts flashing rapidly. I immediately lift the Freddy head above my own and pick up the tablet to wind up the music box, only to find it being forced out of my hand by none other than Freddy Fazbear's successor. With wide eyes and a pounding heard, my arms shot above me and pulled with unhealthy force on Freddy Fazbear's empty head. I shut my eyes as the lights flicker, every inch of hope contributing to the thought of surviving.

I reluctantly push the Freddy head back up and pick up the tablet at lightning speed in fear of the puppet thing. I wind up the music box and listen closely for the sped up jingle that I heard last night. Noticing its absence, I put the tablet down and let out a breath that I've been holding in for far too long. I enjoy the cool breeze of the fan hitting my sweaty skin while I wait for my light headedness to go away. Once my breathing becomes even I hear radio interference coming from the right, so I check the vent light and find that Toy Foxy scrambled into the vent and I didn't even notice.

I pull the Freddy head on once more until the entanglement of wires clambers out. Finally free from animatronics – even though it's only temporary – I allow my tense body to relax for a few minutes before doing anything other than shining down the hall to repel Foxy. I glance at the clock to find that it's already 4:50 AM. Time really does fly when you're about to die, but even so I still have an hour and 10 minutes left to go. That leaves enough room for another attack from all the animatronics, so I decide to be extremely vigilant for this last stretch.

I perform a lengthy camera sweep. All of the toy animatronics are on stage with the exception of the remains of Toy Foxy who is by the Prize Corner. Once again, the Balloon Boy is nowhere to be found. I also check on the old animatronics just to make sure that they're not active. Fortunately, they aren't, with the exception of Foxy. It seems like the Foxys from both generations like being the exception to everything, not that I mind all too much.

I put the tablet down and as I shine the flashlight down the hall, I notice the battery drop from two bars of power to one. At least I know that I conserved the power quite well compared to last night, and if three bars of power got me through nearly five hours, one bar should be more than enough for just over one hour. I pick up the bulky tablet again to wind up the music box, and I hear the Balloon Boy saying "Hi" to the walls once more.

As I put the tablet down on the desk again I realise that it's going to take a while for the animatronics to get near the office again, so I allow myself to drift off in thought for a little bit while still keeping an eye on Foxy. I find myself staring at the scrunched up schedule. I never actually thought of why somebody would scrunch up a schedule, even if it was their last day on the job. It just seems unnecessary, and the fact that he left it there makes even less sense.

I'm probably thinking too hard about this, so I distract myself by shining the light down the hall and winding the music box again. Quickly sweeping over the cameras reveals that none of the animatronics moved except for the entanglement of wires, who is now in the Main Hall. Seems like the animatronics have calmed down a bit, but that doesn't exactly mean that I'm safe, which just adds to the tiny bit of dread still lingering in my stomach. Honestly, the anticipation of the animatronics coming for you is much worse than when they're actually inches away from you.

The time slowly crawls by, and I've had to wind the music box twice which means that at least 16 minutes have passed with nothing truly eventful happening. Toy Freddy, Bonnie and Chica each moved one step closer to the office, with them being in the Game Area, Party Room 3 and the Main Hall respectively. The mangled animatronic moved to the hall in front of the office and promptly moved away to Party Room 1. I wonder which I prefer: being safe from the animatronics with slow passing time or being in danger with time flying out of the window. It's quite a tough decision to make.

Another minute passes and I hear the Balloon Boy giggle while he clambers into the left air vent. So that means that he'll laugh one more time pop his head through the vent, great. It's 5:40 AM, and at this point I have just about nothing to worry about. Flashing my light down the hall shows me that Foxy moved away, so I pick up the tablet to check on the animatronics. Toy Chica and Freddy stayed where they were while Toy Bonnie moved to Party Room 4. The Balloon Boy laughing causes me to put the tablet down and pull the Freddy head over my own, but as I do that my gaze goes from the screen to the laughing plastic boy standing to the left of my office.

My eyes widen in surprise and I instinctively pull the Freddy head down. The past times he got in the vent, he laughed twice before poking his head through the vent, but now he laughed once and made his way into the office? This can't be right. Now that I have the Freddy head on, he's doing nothing except standing there and laughing at me. It takes 10 seconds for me to realise that this noise is going to attract the other animatronics, so I start panicking. I push the Freddy head back up after a minute, since holding it on isn't doing anything to get him out of the office.

At this point I have no idea what to do about him, so I tune out his laughing and try checking the vent light, only to find that both of the vent lights along with the flashlight aren't working anymore. I grab onto the scrunched piece of paper and begin squeezing the hell out of it while clenching my teeth. Not only is it attracting the other animatronics but now I have no defence against Foxy either. If I had just checked the vent light then I could've avoided this situation. Now I'm stuck in a bad situation that I have almost no control over. How will I get through these final 18 minutes of the night without any defence against Foxy and constant laughter that makes me want to pull my ears off? Only time will tell.

I pick up the cold silver tablet to wind up the music box in an attempt to drown out the annoying laughter to no avail. Unfortunately I'll just have to live with it. I scan the cameras and I'm glad to see that the flashlight still works for them. I see that Toy Chica moved from the Main Hall, so she's probably down the hall in front of the office, which means that Foxy is a little bit delayed. Toy Bonnie moved to Party Room 2 while Toy Freddy stayed in the Game Area. As I put the tablet down I notice the sound of radio interference among the constant laughter of the Balloon Boy, and I realise that I noticed the interference much too late when my gaze fell upon the ceiling where the mangled animatronic now hangs.

I never thought that I'd spend the last 14 minutes of my shift with two animatronics in the office in a situation that I have no control over. At this point I can only defend myself against the other three toys while I wait to see what happens with the entanglement of wires or even the old Foxy, since it doesn't look like this Balloon Boy is going to do anything to harm me directly. The sound of annoying, high-pitched child laughter combined with radio interference is enough to make anyone go insane. These are going to be a very long 14 minutes. That is, if I survive.

All I can do right now is wind up the music box and put on the Freddy head to defend myself, so I keep one hand on the Freddy head while I wind the music box once more. Once I put the tablet down I pull the head down immediately. Somehow I hear Toy Bonnie crawl into the vents among the deafening noises emitting from the remains of Toy Foxy and the annoying Balloon Boy. This makes me think of who could be down the hall. In about a minute, Toy Chica would move out of the hall and into Party Room 1, if she hasn't already done so. After that, I can only hope that the big brown bear can take her place before the fast furry fox.

If Toy Freddy makes it there before Foxy, then he'll be delayed a bit longer and I'll have a higher chance to survive. Right now I can only hope. 3 minutes pass and I decide to wind the music box again. I find myself shaking as I do so, but not from fear, oh no. I'm shaking from going insane. I don't know how much longer I can take this annoying combination of sounds along with the fear of the entanglement of wires swinging down to bite my head or something. Then there's the old foxy, who might just jump at me in the same way that he did in my dream.

I can't take this much longer.

Again, I put the tablet down and pull the Freddy head over my own. I can't help but stare at the mangled animatronic hanging from the ceiling. I find myself wondering just how the hell that thing actually moves around the place on its own, and just how long it's going to take for the thing to actually do something to me. The suspense is killing me, but not as fast as the Balloon Boy's constant laughter. I find myself using the scrunched up schedule as a sort of stress ball, and surprisingly it helps to the point where I'm still slightly sane when the warning light for the music box flashes on the tablet. I wind it up halfway when I realise that Toy Bonnie has yet to walk by, and luckily he does just that the second I pull the Freddy head over my own.

I pick up the tablet again to finish winding the music box, but I only wind it up two ticks before Toy Freddy rips it out my hands. Still dazed, I delay putting on the Freddy head by a full two seconds, and before I know it, the lights stop flickering. I'm too scared to pull it up because I have no doubt that I was too slow. I notice the remains of Toy Foxy begin to swing down towards me as the sound of laughter comes to a halt. The radio interference carries on as I hear a loud noise that scares the living crap out of me, almost causing me to have a heart attack. I only wish I had a heart attack, knowing what is to come of the near future.

* * *

 _(A/N: How was that? Again, I hope you enjoyed it, sorry for the cliffy but I felt like putting it in there. Now I'm gonna try to be more consistent with my updating. I'm currently on holiday so I'll be able to type up a chapter or two close together, then post them week after week like I originally wanted to. I'm doing this because if I post a chapter as it's completed, heaven knows when I'll be able to complete the next one, so doing this is gonna help with consistency, and it gives me a deadline that I'll try my best to live up to. Last thing, I've noticed that I was wrong about the month, it's December, not November. I noticed it when I checked the calendar to make sure the date I wrote up is accurate, so I've fixed it in the previous chapters where I mentioned it. Well I'm finally done typing now, I'll try my best to get an update up next week. See ya then!)_


	5. Twisted Revelations

_(A/N: It's me again, after an entire month. I'm really sorry for taking so damn long, I just haven't felt a passion for writing like I have in the past few days, and as a result, I used it as an excuse to procrastinate. Silly MrCreepah. Anyway, I wanted to get **something** out before the end of October (My time zone is GMT+2, so for some people it's already November) and I figured I might as well put out the next chapter of this story._

 _Now, before you read the chapter, there's something I have to say. I haven't necessarily been completely useless this past month regarding my story, I've been reading a **lot** of quality fanfiction and as a result, my writing has noticeably changed in this chapter. I've become a bit more descriptive with my words, and you'll notice that I've put Jeremy's thoughts in separate paragraphs in italics instead of lumping it together with everything else. I personally think this is better than what I've been doing, but I'm still adjusting to this new style, so there are bound to be a few flaws here and there. Anyway, that's about everything I have to say for now, but I'd suggest reading the end of chapter note as well. Hope you enjoy!)_

* * *

 **Twisted Revelations**

The mangled animatronic's radio interference is all I hear until my closed eyes are greeted by static's visual counterpart. A cubic object materialises in my hands as both the static and radio interference begin fading into nothingness. A miniscule amount of light is welcomed by my dilated pupils, and I begin to see silhouettes of strange shapes on the ground. I wait for my eyes to further adjust to the light before even trying to move, and while I do that I hear a distorted noise in the background. I notice that my feet aren't touching the ground. As a matter of fact, my knees are slightly bent along with my ankles, leaving me floating a few centimetres above the ground.

 _Strange._

I hear another distorted sound before it occurs to me that the strange silhouettes I see on the ground are actually children's lifeless bodies. As I look around the empty space, I see four dead children all sprawled out in the same positions on the ground. I look down to see a gift box in my hands, and I confirm that I am indeed floating. White walls fade in from nothing right before my eyes and I hear a whisper echo around the small room,

 _ **Give them gifts.**_

I don't know who or what it might be, but I don't know what else to do, so I make my way towards the child closest to me. Surprisingly, floating around the room feels like second nature to me, so I move quite quickly. Another distorted sound plays as I put the gift box down in front of the first child. A second gift box materialises almost instantly in my hands when I move towards the next child. I reach my destination in almost no time, and as I place the second box in front of the second child, I hear yet another distorted sound.

 _Seems like these sounds are gonna be playing while I hand out the gift boxes, might as well try and listen to what they actually are._

While I move to the third child, what would've been a distorted noise now sounds like the letter 'P'.

 _Maybe the other sounds were letters as well._

I hear the letter 'T' as I place the gift box in front of the third child, and I float towards the fourth child almost immediately afterwards. After the fourth gift box is placed, I hear the letter 'H'. In my head, I recite the three letters I just heard before watching the gift boxes fade out of existence.

 _Now what?_

Almost in reply to my question, I hear a whisper,

 _ **Give them life.**_

 _What? How am I supposed to give them life?_

As if on cue, tiny particles flow from my hands towards the dead child in front of me, and while a purple object materialises from them, I hear the letter 'E'. Once the purple object has formed completely, I realise what it actually is.

 _Bonnie._

I turn right and float towards another one of the dead children under the assumption that I just have to be near them to 'give them life'. I hear the letter 'M' when more tiny particles flow from my hands into empty space, forming a yellow object that in turn becomes Chica.

 _What is actually going on here?_

I force myself to push that thought aside as I turn around to 'give life' to the next child. I hear the letter 'H' again as I make my way to the next child. More particles flow from my hands to create Freddy Fazbear in what was once empty space.

 _What does all this mean?_

I hesitantly float to the final child, and I hear the letter 'E' once more as I approach the dead body. Particles flow from my hands once more, forming the pirate fox known as Foxy right before my eyes. Before I can begin to wonder what's going to happen next, more particles flow from my hands, phasing through my body. I hear the letter 'L' as I turn around to see the particles forming a golden object in the middle of the room.

 _What the hell?_

In the span of less than a second, the object fully materialises, and the head of a golden and withered version of Freddy Fazbear flies towards me at sonic speed with its jaw hanging open, and a blood curdling screech explodes around the walls. Before I can react, the screech is replaced by deafening static, and soon my vision is completely occupied by static.

The world around me fades to black once again, and the ear splitting static slowly fades away as I lose control of the floating body. My eyelids slowly flutter open, only to close nearly immediately afterwards due to the blinding rays of light forcing their way into my pupils. A cool breeze slides over my face and a low hum enters my ears. My eyes open even more slowly than before, allowing them to adjust without too much pain. After what feels like a few minutes I see an empty office in front of me.

 _I'm…alive?_

Instinctively, I glance at the clock to find that it's 6:12 AM.

 _What…just happened?_

Dazed, I take in my enclosed surrounding and memories flood back to me.

 _Oh yeah, I work the night shift here. That weird entanglement of wires swung down and I blacked out, then…_ _ **that**_ _happened._

I realise that it's time for me to leave, so I get up and grab the building's keys to do just that, allowing myself to be lost in thought.

 _What_ _ **was**_ _that? Why did it happen? Seems like it might be related to that dream I had when I was controlling Foxy, but just_ _ **why**_ _are these 'dreams' happening to me? And why now?_

My mind pauses as I lock up, and as I walk towards my car I remember the letters that I heard while I was giving 'gifts' and 'life'.

' _P', 'T', 'H', 'E', 'M', 'H', 'E', 'L'. Something tells me that I shouldn't forget those letters, but what exactly do they mean?_

I get into my car and begin to make sense of the letters as I drive the short distance to my apartment.

 _So 'T', 'H', 'E', and 'M' obviously spells 'THEM', but what about the others? 'P', 'H', 'E' and 'L'…wait a minute, it could spell 'HELP'! 'THEM HELP'…No, that's not right, 'HELP THEM'…_

My eyes widen at this thought.

 _Help who? The children? I already gave them gifts and…life. How else could I help them?_

My apartment building comes into view, and I find myself inside in a matter of seconds. Sudden drowsiness and hunger smashes me like a brick wall, so I settle for some cereal before hitting the shower and going to bed, but not before mentally preparing myself for any more strange dreams.

What feels like a second later, I find myself staring at my bedside lamp feeling strangely awake and refreshed. Instinctively, I glance at the clock on my wall to find that it's 2:30 PM, meaning that I got just under 8 hours of sleep.

 _So no weird dream this time, I wonder why..._

My telephone suddenly rings at that thought, and I spring out of bed to answer it only to regret being so sudden as I'm greeted by a sharp headache and a pain in my heel. Wincing, I pick up the phone and answer it in a tone that contradicts my facial expression.

"Hello?"

"Hey Jeremy! It's me, the manager from the new and improved Freddy Fazbear's Pizza! Actually I should stop saying that when I talk about business matters with employees, ya know? It can get a bit...Never mind. Anyway, how was your second night on the job?"

"More exciting than my first night, I guess."

"Great! I just wanna let you know that you seem to do a very good job here, but if you haven't done this already I suggest you bring a bottle or even a cup of water or something for your next nights. The last guard got dehydrated and apparently saw some pretty strange things in the office and even on the cameras. At least I hope it was dehydration...Sorry, I feel like rambling here, tends to happen to me a bit too often these days,"

"No, it's alright," I reply honestly.

"Alright then, so you won't have a problem coming here for the rest of the week?"

"Nope,"

"Good, good. Uh, that's about all I have to say to you at the moment, so have a good day!"

"Thanks," and with that he drops the phone.

 _You can't get into a more excited mood than that. I think I actually should've asked him what made him so happy, but unfortunately it's too late for that right now._

At that thought, I notice just how cold it is today. I walk into my room and glance out the window through the shutters to find a gray sky accompanied by empty streets. A smile creeps onto my face I see that the yards near my apartment are covered in a thin layer of icy frost before my gaze shifts to the houses, which have orange light flickering from the windows with smoke wafting out of chimneys. I put on a sweater and a pair of socks before heading towards my lounge area to watch some TV.

 _If only this apartment had a fireplace...I just love winter._

Unfortunately my admiration for the cold season is brought to a halt as thoughts of a certain pizzeria floods into my mind. My smile disappears instantly when I am reminded of the pure terror that I have experienced – in such a short period of time, might I add – in that over sized office that I so willingly decide to go back to.

 _What is actually wrong with me? Any normal person would've just quit after the first night, especially after experiencing those strange dreams, but not me. Why though? Last night I basically only went there to keep my mind off of the damn dreams and questions flooding my mind, but there are plenty of other things that I can do._

I realise that I have yet to turn on the TV, so I do just that in hopes of distracting myself from these thoughts. However, my eyes widen as the first thing that I hear once the pixels light up is:

"You have to go back, Jeremy,"

 _That_ _ **has**_ _to be coincidence._

"Trust me, it's not what you think it is,"

 _What...the...hell? It's like the people in this show are reading my thoughts._

"Yes we are,"

I sink into my couch as I hear those words.

 _This can't be happening…Hold up, there's nobody in this show named Jeremy..._

As if on cue, the light from the television screen fades as if it was never turned on in the first place.

 _Is this another strange dream?_

Instinctively I pinch my wrist, and I become unnerved at the pain.

 _This can only mean two things. One, my TV is broken..._

I get up to switch it on again to find that it's still on standby.

 _Or two, I'm hallucinating...Well isn't this just_ _ **fan**_ _tastic. What is it with Freddy Fazbear's Pizza anyway? Wait a minute..._

I decide to leave my TV off and walk back into my room, where I have a collection of old newspapers.

 _I read about something from Freddy's not too long ago, maybe I can find the article._

After 20 minutes of meticulous searching and scanning various newspapers, I finally find what I'm looking for.

"Popular children's pizzeria manager reveals dark reasons for shutting it down multiple times"

 _How could I forget about this?_

The diner turned pizzeria turns out to have been closed multiple times, re-opening again and again due to child murders. With my interest locked on the article, I read about the first major incident that happened at Freddy's. According to the article, a child was murdered outside of one of the first locations while an animatronic, namely Freddy, was serving cake to six children who were inside the diner at the time. The diner was shut down for a short period of time before being re-opened under the name 'Freddy Fazbear's Pizza'. At a bit of a stretch, an incident involving four murdered children at the new pizzeria could be linked to my most recent dream.

This one forced the pizzeria to close down for a few years before being re-opened, as the following investigation revealed that the children were found **stuffed inside of the four animatronics, Freddy, Bonnie, Chica and Foxy.** As I intensively read the article I can't help but notice the striking similarities between a particular incident and one of my dreams. It states that there were **five children found dead in the Pirate Cove area of the pizzeria**. Apparently, Foxy was found with a blood stained mouth and hook, causing an investigation to happen at the newly re-opened pizzeria. Artificial Intelligence specialists concluded that Foxy was, in fact, not the cause of the murders. Instead, a person was found to be the culprit, which was what caused the place to be shut down once again.

"Every single one of the employees were questioned, but none were found guilty due to lack of evidence. In spite of all the incidents that caused Freddy's to shut down, the long-time manager still decides to open the infamous pizzeria once more, boasting redesigned characters, brand new facial recognition software, and a criminal database programmed into the animatronics' 'brains'. Only one person out of the group of previous employees will be allowed to work at the new location, for safety reasons. Even so, this person will take a position away from children as well as one that he's been working in since the start of the company back in the 1970's."

Once again, I ask myself how I could forget about something like this. The fact that the incidents are so dark, and that it's about one of my favourite childhood locations makes it simply unbelievable.

 _Unless it was stored somewhere in my subconscious, which might be why I had dreams that can be compared to two of the incidents. That sounds about right, but where do the others where I'm on stage come from?_

The more I think about it, the more I believe that something supernatural is behind these dreams.

 _Why else would I only experience these dreams now? Seems like the only logical solution, but that's probably because it's the only solution I can come up with right now. Hmm…If it is some spiritual being, then it might mean that the TV being on wasn't a hallucination, but the spirit manifesting itself in the TV to convey a message. Could it be that the spirit is manipulating my thoughts?_

The thought of someone other than myself controlling my thoughts makes me shudder, but it seems illogical. To a certain extent, maybe, but I'd like to believe that my thoughts were mostly my own. However, the main question is, what do these dreams mean?

' _HELP THEM' was spelled out in my last dream, but there's a high chance that it was referring to the situation at the time, so I might as well not waste time thinking about that. Though, that weird flying golden Freddy head was quite strange to say the least. I only wish I could look that thing up somewhere, but I doubt there'd be books on Freddy Fazbear's Pizza in the library._

I feel frustration creeping through my veins at this thought, and I habitually run a hand through my hair. My stomach growls as if it's been pleading to be filled for the past hour, so I decide to pack the newspapers back where they were before heading to my kitchenette to make a simple cheese sandwich. As I munch on my lunch, I can't help but think of whether I should return to the pizzeria or not. A sudden chill goes down my spine, accompanied by a whisper which echoes through my mind,

 _ **Don't leave us.**_

My body stiffens, and my half eaten sandwich flops back down onto my plate as I feel my body temperature plunge. Something spiritual is behind this, and I don't like it one bit. I regain my composure, and pick up the rest of my sandwich before glancing at the clock.

 _6 PM huh? The past three and a half hours only felt like thirty minutes to me. Six hours until my next shift starts, twelve until it ends._

I resume eating my sandwich, quickly realising that my appetite completely vanished. In spite of this, I finish it anyway, and I find myself drowned in pointless thought until my apartment gets dark. In no time at all, I find myself preparing for my shift, grabbing a clean soda cup and filling it with water before climbing into my car. My gaze shifts down to the pizzeria's keys in the passenger seat before I start my little car's engine. One word has been constantly popping into my mind for these past six hours, and it perfectly describes the feeling in the pit of my stomach as I drive to Freddy Fazbear's Pizza once more.

 _Empty._

* * *

 _(A/N: Again, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Let me know what you guys think! Now, I know this chapter has taken way too long to come out and it's been bugging me for the whole month, believe it or not. What does this mean? Well, I've decided that I'm going to practise my time management. Right now I'm back at school with a lot of work to do, so I've decided to make use of this opportunity to challenge myself. As of now, I'm going to try to put out something once every week (unless I have a valid reason), whether it be an update to this story, or a spinoff (such as 'Fear'), so there's something you can look forward to! Writing also comes more naturally to me now, so my stories and updates will be typed out faster, and hopefully writer's block won't happen as often. That's about everything I have to say for now, catch you next week! :D)_


	6. Fighting Fire with Ice

_(A/N: Nearly three months since my last overall update, and just over six months since my last update to this story. Procrastination at its finest. The only good part about this being late is the fact that it should be relatively mistake-free, because I've spent at least a week working on this. I couldn't think of a better title to this chapter, but I hope you enjoy my incredibly late update.)_

* * *

 **Fighting Fire with Ice**

A warm breath exits my lungs, visible in the frosty air as I walk away from the recently shut car door. With a cold soda cup of water in my left hand, I use my right hand to take out the slightly warm keys belonging to the pizzeria's singular lock. Why the manager gave me a whole set of keys for one simple lock, I don't know. Why he decided that one simple lock is sufficient to keep any potential burglars out, I don't know either. What I do know, is that I'm unreasonably frustrated right now, evident in the way I just slammed the door behind me.

 _Why are those dreams affecting me so much? Actually, scratch that, it's not those stupid dreams. Some type of higher power is affecting my brain and I don't like it one bit. Now I have to get through 6 more hours of this crap, and for what? Money that'll allow me to scrape by for the rest of the month?_ _ **Gee**_ _, how nice. I should actually just leave this place and find a better job. One that won't have me risking my damn life._

I feel my heart rate rise before I realise that I'm already in the over sized office where I will most likely die later this week if not tonight. Glancing at the clock as I sit down, I see that I still have 7 minutes before my shift starts.

 _Enough time to escape the fate that will likely fall upon me within the next 6 hours._

Without necessarily meaning to, I find myself slamming the soda cup on the table before violently shoving the crumpled papers off of the desk. How I wish I could break something right now. Suddenly, I pause. Disappointment floods my gut as I realise that I'm unintentionally attempting to fill this empty pit in my stomach with anger, as if I'm back in the days when I was depressed.

 _As if something actually happened to make me feel this way. This shouldn't be happening._

I look up at the ceiling and scowl.

 _Why are you doing this to me, huh? I seriously don't have time to be some dead person's puppet, I mean, what makes_ _ **me**_ _so special as to re-live the events of this bloody pizzeria through my dreams? Why are you making me feel so_ _ **empty**_ _inside? Stupid supernatural piece of-_

My head jerks downwards to the sharp sound of the ringing phone that interrupted my irrational thoughts.

 _Great, this guy again. What nonsense is going to spout from his mouth this time?_

As I reach to pick up the phone, I realise that I need to calm down soon or else my chances of surviving this night will head straight down the drain. I take a deep breath before finally picking up the phone.

"Hello hello! See? I told you you wouldn't have any problems!"

 _Well then clearly you had no idea what happened here last night._

"Did...uh... Did Foxy ever appear in the hallway?"

 _Yes._

"Probably not. I was just curious."

I roll my eyes and pick up the tablet as the phone guy tells me that Foxy was always his favourite. Apparently the people at the pizzeria tried to remake him, putting him in Kid's Cove, but all the toddlers kept on taking him apart. As expected, nothing eventful is happening on the cameras, just that the music box is slightly unwound and the entanglement of wires is still making those static noises.

"The staff literally has to put Foxy back together after every shift. So eventually they stopped trying and left him as some 'take apart and put back together' attraction. Now he's just a mess of parts. I think the employees refer to him as just "The Mangle." Uh..."

' _The Mangle', eh? Better than 'Spider Foxy' or 'entanglement of wires'. I'll take it._

I put the tablet back down as he says something about 'easing my mind' about any rumours I might have heard lately. I decide to listen intently to the rest of the call.

"You know how these local stories come and go and seldom mean anything. I can personally assure you that, whatever is going on out there, and however tragic it may be, has nothing to do with our establishment. It's all just rumour and speculation... People trying to make a buck. You know... Uh, our guard during the day has reported nothing unusual. And he's on watch from opening 'til close."

 _Yeah well of course he couldn't have reported anything unusual because the animatronics all act normal during the day, dammit!_

"Okay, well anyway, hang in there and I'll talk to you tomorrow."

The end of the call allows me to realise two things. One, while the phone guy was talking I was feeling relatively calmer than when I just allowed my thoughts to do whatever the hell they wanted, and two, the phone guy said nothing that I could use as a way to defend myself against these deranged animatronics. These realisations mean two things. One, I need to find something to distract myself from my irrational anger, and two, I'll have to rely on what I've learnt along with my instinct in order to form a strategy to survive this night.

 _But then again, I'm pretty sure I got this. I just have to be more careful with Balloon Boy and the Mangle and I'll be set for the night. Piece of cake._

I flash the light down the hall only to see Foxy standing there already. A quick glance at the clock tells me that it has literally only been 4 minutes and the pirate animatronic has _already_ moved from his spot to come and kill me. Whether or not flashing the light on and off will ward him away more quickly, I don't know. What I do know, however, is that it's my best bet right now. I can only hope that this on and off flashing doesn't end up draining the flashlight's battery faster, because I sure as hell don't want to just sit here and anticipate my death by an animatronic that I once loved to bits.

Soon the flashlight 'jams', which just means that Foxy is moving out of the hall. I check the vent lights out of habit before picking up the bulky metal tablet to wind up the music box and check the other cameras. The only thing that changed since the last time I checked the cameras was that the music box unwound a quarter of the way. Not that I'm complaining. Placing the flat metal brick on the table, I flash the light down the hall once more before pausing to just think.

I seem to have calmed down substantially in just 2 minutes, a good sign. I'd better prepare myself for a sudden increase in animatronic activity though. If I'm not mistaken, they'll only get more active as the week goes on, if last night was any indication. So far, so good, I guess.

I feel the pit in my stomach grow ever larger as I sit in solitude. The only noise I hear is the low hum of the lights and the light breeze flowing past my ears, courtesy of the silver fan perched on the desk in front of me.

 _Why am I feeling like this? Can a spirit or ghost actually affect someone's brain like mine is being affected right now? It seems a bit far-fetched if you ask me, but it's the only explanation for it right now. The real question is why would they make me feel like this? So that I can feel what they're feeling right now? That's just...selfish. It's not like I don't want to help them or anything, so if that_ _ **is**_ _the case, then-_

The sound of metal clinking together snaps me out of my thoughts. I instinctively flash the light down the hall, finding nothing, before picking up the large device to check the cameras. Kid's Cove is now empty, with the Mangle having moved to the Prize Corner. I wind up the music box before shifting my attention to the show stage. Miraculously, none of the three main toy animatronics have decided to move off stage yet. Feeling slight relief, I check the Game Area, finding Balloon Boy standing as still as a statue. Lastly, I check Parts and Service to find each of the old animatronics in their places, so I decide to put the tablet on the desk.

Another flash of the light down the hall reveals nothing, so I sit back in my chair and resume thinking.

 _If I'm not mistaken, the mysterious spirits that are messing with me_ _ **have**_ _to be children. I'm apparently only the second night guard at this place, so they_ _ **can't**_ _be adults. That might explain why they're making me feel what I assume they're feeling right now, which would be emptiness. Only thing is, whenever I feel empty, my stupid subconscious decides to try and fill that hole with anger, which I utterly despise. After that, the anger turns into disappointment, which ends up changing into sadness which only ends up making the hole even larger._

 _Then the whole cycle starts all over again. Distractions can only delay the cycle, so the only way out of it is if I find something positive to shrink that hole down. My only question is: what will that thing be? When I was younger, I was lucky enough to have my distraction, video games, bring out happiness in me, so I felt...fulfilled, I guess. But then again, I suspect that this feeling of emptiness is induced by the spirits of these children, so it might not go away if I find something positive to fill up this emptiness. I might need to find a way to help these kids if I want a shot at getting rid of this feeling._

At that thought, I feel the emptiness recede a little bit. I don't care whether this is my imagination or not, just that it stays this way. However, the little 'cycle' that I just thought about will probably just end up expanding the hole in the pit of my stomach regardless. I decide to flash the light down the hall since I have no idea how long I zoned out. Luckily, Foxy isn't standing there, so I check the vent lights before performing a quick camera sweep.

For some reason I failed to notice the red warning light until I checked CAM 11, so I quickly rectified that before searching the other cameras. The entangled animatronic was hanging from the ceiling of the Game Area, a few inches away from hanging directly above the Balloon Boy. I check the Show Stage and I find something that I was not expecting. All three of the regular toy animatronics are _still_ on stage. Seems oddly convenient if you ask me. Just before the tablet touches the desk, I decide to check the other cameras out of gut instinct.

Something I was _definitely_ not expecting to see was the old Bonnie standing in a doorway at the far end the Main Hall.

 _What the hell?_

My heart rate rises drastically and I feel the blood rushing out of my face.

 _This can't be real._

I check the Parts and Service camera feed, only to see that Bonnie is no longer sitting slumped against the wall. I switch the camera feed back to the Main Hall, finding that he is still standing there.

 _You're not serious right now._

I put the large device back on the desk before slumping in my chair with an open jaw and wide eyes to match it. It's one thing to see a friendly looking but murderous animatronic character wandering a pizzeria at night. It's basically a _completely_ different thing to see a torn apart animatronic character that's supposedto be _out of commission_ walking around a pizzeria at night. An animatronic that currently only has _one and a half_ arms and a head with _no face_.

To say that I'm horrified is an understatement.

I decide to flash the light down the hall before I give myself a short timeout to acquaint myself with reality. As a result, I find Foxy standing there, simply waiting for me to slip up so he can kill me. As I flash the light I can't help but think that it almost feels natural to have the old Foxy still active.

 _I mean, it's not like he's torn up_ _ **too**_ _badly. He still has a face and both arms. It's basically just parts of his 'fur' that's torn away from his body. If anything, his endoskeleton is perfectly fine. Bonnie on the other hand...how is that even possible? I guess his endoskeleton must be in working condition, even if it's just barely._

The familiar buzzing sound when I try to flash the flashlight tells me that Foxy has found something better to do with his life. I check the vent lights as I feel blood returning to my pale face, resulting in an uncomfortable heat hovering around my head. Remembering the soda cup I filled with water, I reach out to pick it up, only to find that it's empty. I feel a frown forming on my face moments before I see that there were actually two soda cups on the desk, one of them being emptied by the previous guard. Frustrated at my stupidity, I end up throwing the empty soda cup on the floor.

 _There I go again. Calm the hell down, Jeremy. You're better than this. Those days are over._

I take a long, deep breath before I exhale what I believe to be all my negative emotions. I repeat the process a number of times as I scan the floor for a bin to throw all this trash into. Finding one to the left of the desk, I proceed to pick up the ruined soda cup and the papers before throwing all but one of them into the bin.

 _If tonight is going to be anything like last night, this should help to relieve some stress._

My gaze shifts to the remaining soda cup on the desk. Noticing that the heat around my face subsided, I decide to abandon the idea of sipping some water in favour of saving it for when I feel particularly stressed. The sudden sound of Balloon Boy's childish laughter echoes around the dark halls. This, accompanied by the orange warning light sharply flashing from a point on the desk allows me to realise that I may have spent a bit too much time ignoring the tablet.

Refusing to waste more time, I quickly flash the light down the hall to find something that forces my heart rate to skyrocket. Standing at the far end of the hall leading to my office is the old Bonnie, seemingly staring at me even with his lack of a face. Instinctively, I check the vent lights before pulling down the Freddy head as if my life depends on it. I pause for a short moment.

 _My life_ _ **does**_ _depend on it._

That thought almost makes me chuckle before I realise that this is actually a serious situation. I feel that my fingers have a death grip on the mask, so I loosen my grip enough so that blood can flow through their veins. As I do this, the orange warning light quickly changes to red. I hastily remove Freddy's head and flash the light down the hall, only to find that Bonnie is still standing there.

 _I have to act quickly. Surely there must be something I can do to ward Bonnie off faster-...hold up._

A memory resurfaces in my mind.

" _Those older models would always get disoriented with bright lights. It would cause a system restart, or something."_

Making use of this information, I flash the light on and off six times before picking up the cold metal device with the main purpose of winding up the music box. I only wind it up halfway before putting the tablet back on the desk to check on Bonnie. Trying to flash the light down the hall only results in a buzzing sound, so that means that he either left the hall or moved closer. If the sound of metal clinking together is any indication, I'd say that the Mangle took his place. I pick up the tablet once more and I wind up the music box completely before performing a quick camera sweep.

Toy Bonnie and Chica have left the Show Stage, with the rabbit moving to Party Room 3 and the chicken moving to the Main Hall. Both the Mangle and Balloon Boy are nowhere on the cameras, but there is a specific animatronic that isn't where it should be. The old Chica, with its head pretty much in two separate parts, and its handless arms spread out to the sides, is standing at the far wall of Party Room 4. Dumbfounded and locked in fear, I end up staring at the screen for about 10 seconds before Balloon Boy's laughter snaps me back to reality. I decide to check the other cameras, and in Party Room 1 I find the withered Bonnie, standing and staring at the camera with red eyes, before I put the bulky tablet back on the desk.

I flash the light down the hall to find the Mangle dangling from the ceiling, accompanied by none other than the original pirate fox standing in the middle of the hall. After flashing the light on and off repeatedly, I habitually check the vent lights before quickly checking the status of the flashlight battery as well as the time. I've used one bar of the flashlight battery and it's currently 2:17 AM.

I feel my heart pounding against my chest as I notice the uncomfortable amount of heat that is currently being generated by my body. I grab the soda cup from the desk and take a large sip of water, sloshing the refreshing liquid around in my mouth for a few seconds. I put it back down before pulling down the fuzzy Freddy head, after which I decide to wait for a short while in order to calm down a bit. Swallowing uncomfortably hard, I feel the water successfully cooling down my body temperature as it quickly travels down my oesophagus.

 _I need to calm down so I'll be able to react fast enough when the time comes. It seems like I'll have to deal with quite a few animatronics at a time, so I need my mental state to be in tip-top shape if I want to get out of here alive. Breathe, Jeremy. Just breathe._

As I do just that, I feel my heart rate slowly but surely lowering. I let go of Freddy's head so I can flash the light down the hall again. I hear two sounds when I push the button to turn on the flashlight: the familiar buzzing sound, – letting me know that the animatronics have moved from the hall – and the distinct sound of an animatronic clambering into the left air vent. I check the vent lights, finding nothing, before confirming which animatronic it is that crawled into the vent. With wide eyes, I stare at the faceless Bonnie as I feel my heart threatening to burst through my chest from fear.

 _How does he even fit in there?_

I shut off the video feed by putting the silver tablet back on the desk. I fail to catch a breath.

 _Better yet...how did he even crawl in there?_ _ **Why**_ _did he even crawl in there?_ _ **Why**_ _and_ _ **how**_ _did this get into his..."mind"? This is just messed up. This_ _ **shouldn't happen!**_

I slowly get a hold on my breathing, closing my eyes to calm myself in preparation of the inevitable danger that I will soon face.

 _If I'm not mistaken, Bonnie should show up in the vent's blind spot before attacking, so that gives me some time to calm myself._

I decide to take another sip of water to quench the burning feeling that had grown in my throat. Closing my eyes for five seconds, I successfully calm myself down.

 _I did it...I think I should wind up the music box completely so that it doesn't run out while an animatronic is in my office._

I pick up the large device once more, winding up the music box completely before checking the other cameras. Aside from old Chica and the Mangle, none of the other animatronics have moved. Chica is now standing in Party Room 2, standing very close to the camera and staring at it with large eyes. Mangle, on the other hand, has opted to hang from the ceiling in Party Room 1. For some twisted reason, I decide to switch back to CAM 02. Before I can find any reason as to why this old Chica, this... _thing_ is still active, I hear Balloon Boy's laughter, and the signal from the camera feed is interrupted. Strangely, I hear an animatronic either getting into or getting out of the left air vent.

 _Can two animatronics even fit into the same vent at once?_

As if to answer my question, I see four robotic skeleton fingers slithering at the top of the tablet's display. The claw-like hand then forces the large metal device out of my hands and nearly slams it on the table, causing me to go into a temporary state of shock. The animatronic towering in front of me is none other than the purple rabbit guitarist, Bonnie. His head is tilted downwards, allowing his red eyes to stare directly into my soul. Without realising it, I sharply inhale a breath that stretches my lungs to their maximum capacity.

 _Come on Jeremy, now is_ _ **not**_ _the time to be frozen!_

The flashing lights help me to come to my senses, and the sound of static triggers something that my muscle memory recently learned. My arms shoot up above my head and pull the Freddy head down with an alarming amount of force, so much that my hands actually slipped right off. Luckily for me, something involving the interference caused by Bonnie's mere presence locks it into place, just like it did last night.

 _Perfect...now I can only hope that I wasn't too late._

The breath that was caught in my throat less than three seconds ago has swiftly exited my lungs, leaving me with a temporarily aching ribcage. I start hyperventilating in the empty head, which means that my breathing is about half as fast as my heart is beating right now. I close my eyes to avoid direct eye contact with the gigantic machine in front of me. I can barely hear the static over my own breathing at this point, and I'm forced to just wait until Bonnie decides to go away.

After what feels like an eternity, the static fades and my breathing slows down to a normal rate. I simply enjoy the silence for about seven seconds before I remember the other threats that I have to deal with soon, so I reluctantly push the hollow head back up to its usual resting place. I flash the light down the hall. Or rather, I try to flash the light down the hall, but it just makes a buzzing sound. Slightly annoyed, I check the vent lights, finding the Balloon Boy in the left vent's blind spot. Once again, I pull Freddy's head over my own.

A minute passes, and I hear an animatronic clumsily climbing into the right air vent. Since I haven't heard Balloon Boy crawl out of the left vent yet, I decide to leave Freddy's head on for a little while longer. Eventually, the plastic animatronic boy crawls out of the vent, allowing me the freedom and security to check on the other animatronics. An attempt at flashing the light down the hall again reveals Toy Chica standing there with a demented smile and a cupcake in her right hand, so I flash it on and off multiple times in hopes of restarting the bird's system. Next, I check CAM 11 and wind the music box up fully before checking on the other robotic creatures.

The withered Chica somehow crawled into the right air vent despite its lack of hands, and as a result I feel fear coursing through my body. Quickly thinking to find a distraction from my apparent distress, I check the other cameras. The bright blue Bonnie moved to Party Room 4 while the big brown bear, Toy Freddy, moved over to the Game Room. The entanglement of wires, better known as the Mangle, has opted to hang from the ceiling in Party Room 2. The Parts and Service camera feed reveals Foxy in his torn up state, along with a terrifying fact: the old Freddy isn't there anymore.

Frantically, I search the other cameras to find him standing next to the right doorway on the far end of the hall. The fact that he stares at the camera is more than enough to unnerve me, and as a result I instinctively switch to another camera feed and put the tablet down, only to be met with the sight of the old Chica standing in front of me with outstretched arms and snake-like wires replacing its hands. Wide eyed and caught off guard, I freeze again.

 _No...Not this again! Snap out of it Jeremy! Do something or you're gonna_ _ **die!**_

Suddenly my arms shoot up and pull the Freddy head down over my own. The speed at which I did that clearly isn't healthy, because the sudden movement causes me to grit my teeth as my muscles cramp. My heart pounds, threatening to break out of my chest while I watch the lights flash. Feeling my body temperature increasing to an uncomfortable heat, I close my eyes and attempt to control my outrageous hyperventilation. An eternity and a dry mouth later, the static fades and I cautiously push the Freddy head back up. I pause for 5 seconds, unconsciously holding my breath.

 _5\. 4. 3. 2. 1...Seems like I'm safe._

I let the warm breath exit through my mouth and I immediately reach for the soda cup. Allowing myself to drink a particularly large amount of water, I quickly flash the light down the hall and check the vent lights. Finding nothing, I slowly swallow the water while I rest.

 _That was way too close. If I was frozen for just a second longer, chances are I would've been dragged off and stuffed into a suit by now._

Once my breathing is completely even, I check the vent lights and I'm greeted by a buzzing sound when I try to check down the hall. I let out a sigh before picking the tablet up once more. However, I almost drop it out of surprise at the sight of the old Freddy with his face right next to the camera in Party Room 3.

 _I just_ _ **had**_ _to switch to this camera feed when I freaked out...Just great._

I shake my head before switching to CAM 11. I begin winding up the music box, but just as it's about to be fully wound I hear static coming from my right side. I put the tablet down to investigate, and the right vent light reveals the Mangle. I flash the light down the hall before pulling the Freddy head down. As it turns out, both Foxy and the withered Bonnie are standing there, just waiting for me to slip up.

 _That entanglement of wires must have crawled in there while Chica was in the office. But how can that thing even crawl into the vent? Does it move like a worm or what? And this old Foxy...I hope he's only unintentionally teaming up with this old Bonnie. If they're somehow smart enough to team up on their own, then I highly doubt that I'm going to survive this night._

The sound of an animatronic clambering out of the right vent along with the absence of static tells me that the Mangle moved out of the vent, so I push the Freddy mask back up. A quick inspection of the vent lights confirms that the Mangle did leave, and flashing the light down the hall only results in yet another buzzing noise.

 _These animatronics really aren't wasting time now...I wonder if they realise that there isn't too much time left to kill me. Actually, speaking of time..._

My gaze shifts to the clock.

 _4:23 AM, huh? With one bar of battery life left on my flashlight, I'd better be careful, especially since I don't even know how long it's been like that. I think I can afford to take a short break right now, both to save battery life and to relax a bit._

I allow my tense shoulders to slump in relaxation. I do literally nothing but breathe for the next two minutes, which in turn causes my heart rate to return to normal. An orange warning light starts flashing from the tablet and I hear the Balloon Boy's deceivingly innocent laugh before an animatronic crawls into the left air vent.

 _Here we go again._

I take in a large breath and let it out as a sigh before mentally preparing myself to survive for the next hour and 35 minutes. Getting back into my routine, I flash the light down the hall and check the vent lights. I don't see any animatronics in the vents, but I certainly wasn't expecting to see the withered Freddy standing in the middle of the hall. My heart rate rises.

 _Control yourself Jeremy, you have to think straight._

I let in a deep breath before exhaling slowly, and I feel my heart rate returning to normal.

 _Good._

I flash the light on and off a few times, hoping to restart Freddy's system, before picking up the tablet to wind up the music box. The words 'Signal Interrupted' show up on the screen and I see nothing but static on each of the camera feeds. Luckily I can still wind up the music box, but it's very dangerous for me to go on not knowing where each of the animatronics are. An animatronic crawls into the right vent as I watch the half circle slowly close up, and I hear radio interference that can only be the Mangle. With the music box fully wound, I put the tablet down to find a huge brown bear hulking over me from behind the desk. My muscles tense.

 _I've gotten careless. Don't you_ _ **dare**_ _freeze again Jeremy._

I gain control over my arms and swiftly grab the duplicate Freddy's head, pulling it down in order to fool the original Freddy. At this point I can only hope that Freddy shares the same AI as his friends instead of recognising himself. It had never occurred to me that this could have been a problem until now, but there's nothing I can do right now except wait. I shut my eyes while I wait for Freddy to either leave or kill me. He does neither of those for what feels like years, and when the static fades I mentally prepare myself for my potential death. Just as I am about to lift up the Freddy mask, it locks into place as Toy Bonnie enters the room with an eerie smile and robotic walk. I can't help but stare into his lifeless eyes which pierce every inch of my soul. I close my eyes again.

 _That was too close. If I had decided to lift the Freddy head up a second earlier I probably wouldn't be here right now._

I open my eyes as soon as the static is reduced to nothing, and I hurriedly lift Freddy's head back up before checking down the hall again. Foxy has decided to return to the hall, so I flash the light on and off once more to chase him away. Checking the vent lights, I'm more annoyed than surprised at the fact that Balloon Boy is sticking his head out of the left vent. I pull down on the brown Freddy head again, waiting in silence for the plastic animatronic boy to leave. It takes a very long time for him to leave, so long, in fact, that the orange warning light flashes from the tablet's display. I lift Freddy's head and check the left vent light to find that it's empty.

 _You can't seriously tell me that I didn't hear or see him climb out._

Before I rectify the issue with the music box, I decide to check the vent lights once more out of gut instinct. For a second, I see the torn face of the withered Bonnie by the left vent, but the light flashes and he suddenly disappears. I flash the vent light on and off, revealing that it's empty.

 _Am I seeing things?_

My mind wanders as I flash the right vent light and check down the hall, both of which are vacant. I pick up the large metal device and think for a moment while I wind up the music box.

 _Surely that was just my mind playing tricks on me...it_ _ **has**_ _to be. Balloon Boy literally crawled out of the vent less than a few seconds before I saw that face, or lack thereof._

Before I know it, the music box is fully wound up, so I check the other cameras.

 _When I'm done here I should probably pull the Freddy head over my own as soon as I put the tablet down, just to be safe._

Toy Chica is standing near the camera accompanied by Mangle in the Main Hall, while the other two toy animatronics decided to move back on stage. The old Freddy Fazbear went back to playing dead in Parts and Service, and the old Chica moved to Party Room 2 once again. Staying true to what I mentally told myself 10 seconds ago, I pull the Freddy head down as I put the tablet down. I wouldn't be lying if I said that my paranoia didn't play a part in saving my life, because lo and behold, the old Bonnie with his missing face is standing right in front of me.

 _I don't know if I should be happy or worried that I basically hallucinated a minute ago, but I'll accept a stroke of luck any day._

Soon, the withered Bonnie decides to leave, so I return to my routine. Push the Freddy head back up, check the vent lights, shine the flashlight down the hall. Both vents plus the hall are vacant. I pick up the large device once more to find that Party Room 2 is now empty. As if on cue, I hear an animatronic clambering into the right air vent. Disregarding the fact that I have to conserve battery life, I check the Right Air Vent instead of trusting my instincts, and, as expected, I find none other than the withered Chica.

 _It's obvious that Chica would be the one to climb into the vent, idiot. Now you just wasted battery-_

Suddenly, Balloon Boy laughs and I hear another animatronic climbing into the vent, except this time, it's the left vent. A frown makes its way onto my face as I check which animatronic it is, only to find Balloon Boy himself. I make sure to let go of the flashlight button as I allow myself to drift off in thought for a moment.

 _Normally he laughs a few times before crawling into the vent. This time I only heard him laugh once...something isn't right here._

I switch over to the Prize Corner video feed to wind up the music box while I think.

 _He couldn't have switched tactics to confuse me, could he? I highly doubt that I missed him laugh twice in a row...unless..._

My eyes widen slightly.

 _Unless he never crawled into the vent last time. Bonnie must have crawled into the vent just as he laughed last time, making me think that it was Balloon Boy. But why did I see Balloon Boy when I checked the vent light beforehand? Am I seriously hallucinating?_

I shake my head to clear my thoughts.

 _I don't have time to be worrying about that now, I'll save it for when I get home._

I pause for a second.

 _ **When?**_ _More like_ _ **if**_ _at this point. Especially if I keep on drifting off in thought like this! Focus!_

I check the other cameras in both an attempt to tame my wandering mind and to know exactly where the other animatronics are. Toy Chica is standing alone in the Main Hall, Toy Bonnie moved to Party Room 4 and good ol' Freddy Fazbear is still playing dead in Parts/Service. The Mangle is hanging out with Toy Freddy in the Game Area, and I already know where the Balloon Boy and Withered Chica are. Foxy, on the other hand, is nowhere to be seen on the cameras. I lift my hand to pull down the Freddy head as soon as I put the tablet down, but it seems that someone... _something_ else has other plans in store for me, because before my eyes, I see wires creeping over the tablet.

 _What the...hell?_

Before I know it, the tablet is slammed onto the desk by the old Chica. Luckily my hand is already above my head when this happens, so I swiftly pull down my only defence against this torn up animatronic with its sunken eyes and multiple sets of teeth. The lights flash and static rings in my ears for more than a little while before the once loved animatronic leaves the room.

 _That's just messed up. How is it even possible to move wires?_

I find it slightly hard to catch a breath, so I wait a minute before carrying on. During this time, I hear an animatronic crawling out of the left air vent, an animatronic that I assume is Balloon Boy. Sooner than expected, my breathing evens out. I lift the Freddy head up and check the vent lights. Finding nothing, I flash the light down the hall to reveal Foxy standing there. Normally I'd flash the light on and off at least 5 times, but after the third time flashing the light, it stops working.

 _What?_

I press the button repeatedly to no avail.

 _Not even the buzzing sound...Don't tell me..._

I glance at the flashlight battery status.

 _ **Empty?!**_

I shift my gaze to the clock as I feel my shoulders slump in defeat.

 _5:42 AM? I have to go 18 minutes without flashlight power? Well isn't that just_ _ **perfect?**_ _Please tell me Foxy's system reset, because I seriously don't have time to_ _ **die**_ _right now._

I let out an inaudible groan before closing my eyes in thought.

 _All I can do right now to keep myself safe is sit here and hold the Freddy head down. Of course that won't keep Foxy away if what the phone guy said is true, but it should keep everyone else out. Plus, I won't have to check the vent lights. Why didn't I think of this earlier?_

Three minutes pass, and I realise exactly why I didn't think of this earlier.

 _This is incredibly..._ _ **boring**_ _. All I'm doing is sitting and hoping that Foxy went away. Surely there must be a way for me to check...Hold up._

I lift the Freddy head and check the vent lights, finding nothing, before checking the Main Hall.

 _Normally I'd be able to see Toy Chica without the flashlight. If she has a pattern like the other animatronics, she should be in the hall leading into my office next. As far as I know, she usually stands alone...so I should be safe..._

I put the tablet down and let out a sigh of relief before pulling the mask down to cover my face again. Five minutes take hours to go by, and eventually the warning light flashes from the tablet. Just as I'm about to fix that, an animatronic climbs into the left air vent.

 _For all I know, that can be Toy Chica. If it is, then it could mean that Foxy is waiting down the hall. What's the time?_

Looking at the clock tells me that its 5:51 AM.

 _Nine minutes? That's more than enough time for Foxy to get me._

For the next minute I debate whether I should wind up the music box or leave the mask on.

 _The phone guy just said that Foxy won't be fall for the Freddy head trick. What if keeping it on delays him a bit?_

A memory suddenly resurfaces in my mind.

" _I don't think a Freddy mask will fool it, so just don't forget the music box."_

If the Freddy mask wasn't covering my face, I would've hit myself so hard that my hand would go through my head.

 _Idiot, idiot,_ _ **idiot!**_

I push said Freddy mask up and check the left vent light to find Toy Chica's demented smile.

 _I may have just ruined my chances of survival by forgetting that important fact. If I wind the music box up now, chances are that Chica will be my downfall...Right now I can only hope that she leaves soon._

I scream in my mind for the clock to tick faster. 5:53 AM, the warning light starts flashing red. 5:54 AM, I hear Chica climb out of the vent.

 _ **Finally!**_

With high hopes, I shove the Freddy mask up before grabbing the tablet from the desk. I switch to CAM 11 at lightning speed, only to find that the warning light stopped flashing. A fast paced jingle plays as I watch the Puppet slowly rise from now open music box. My eyes widen in fear as the words 'Signal Interrupted' show up on the display once more. I nearly drop the tablet as the realisation dawns on me.

 _I'm too late._

I feel a large lump quickly forming in my dry throat as my gaze shifts to the soda cup on my desk.

 _At least I made this last, unlike my life. I wonder who'll have the honour of taking it: Foxy, or the Puppet._

I grab the soda cup and raise it above my head.

 _To: my incredibly short life._

I allow myself to let out a small chuckle before gulping down every last drop of the water in the soda cup. My eyelids suddenly feel heavy.

 _Why not sleep? I'd rather die while I'm unconscious anyway._

I lie down on my folded arms and close my eyes. I feel a smile creep onto my face as I recall each and every one of the fond memories that I've made up until this point. Then, out of nowhere, I drift into the seemingly peaceful land of sleep.

* * *

 _(A/N: There you have it! Took me like three hours trying to decide how I should end this chapter. Again, I hope you enjoyed it. I personally think the quality of this is higher than the precious chapters, one of the few advantages of updating late after reading tons of other fanfiction. I'll try to update more frequently. I've gotten into the flow of writing again, I just need to dedicate more time to it. Until next time! [which will hopefully be the 9th of May])_


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